by Terry Hibberd
See more at: www.RedBull.com/Dakar
Red Bull KTM rider Cyril Despres is inching closer to having one hand on the Dakar winners trophy after another superlative display in Stage 11. The Frenchman finished a shortened stage in third place after weather ravaged the region of Fiambala making riding conditions less than ideal.
Despres does however extend his lead in the overall standings over his teammate Ruben Faria to over 13 minutes, with Faria finishing the day in 10th place.
“There was a storm in the dunes and it started raining. It wasn’t easy to navigate. We came across some streams full of mud and water, which brought back bad memories from last year. I don’t know what today means in terms of results, but I’m just happy to be here without too many problems” Despres said.
There was a winner for the Red Bull team though as American, Kurt Caselli, took his second stage win of the race. Caselli, who replaced the injured Mark Coma, has impressed many with his skills in his first Dakar and there is no doubt he will be a contender for the win in years to come. Starting the stage in fifth place ‘Special K’ was to blast past everyone and leave the pack behind, taking the win by almost five minutes but he’s not letting things go to his head.
“Due to the rain there was a bunch of ruts everywhere, so the first few guys had to go really slowly. I think I started fifth, so I was able to catch up. Then I passed Cyril at maybe after 60 km back and just followed on from there.” Caselli said.
“I’m starting to get more comfortable with the road-book, so I’m just riding around. Before I really had a lot of trouble and missed some way points. Today was better, because I got to find my own way and didn’t miss anything, so it was good. I’m taking it day by day every day.”
Full stage 11 results and overall standings are available here.
See more at: www.RedBull.com/Dakar
