Coma never looked back during Leg 2, moving into the lead after finishing second yesterday.
Yesterday saw Francisco López take the first stage of the 2012 Dakar, but Marc Coma took the lead in Leg 2. The title holder has put distance between himself and his main rivals for victory in this 16-day race, with Cyril Despres 2 minuntes 52 seconds behind in the general standings.
With 295km covered in the special stage in Leg 2, the gaps recorded are starting to be counted in minutes. Marc Coma, who already fired a warning shot over his rivals' bows by putting in the second best time yesterday, did not take long to seize the opportunity to put some distance between his bike and the chasing pack. Having set off in second place behind Francisco Lopez, Coma won the 17th stage of his career on the Dakar, opening the road during the entire final part of the route.
Some way behind the Spaniard, a traditional confrontation with Cyril Despres fell into place. After a gentle start to the competition yesterday, he was obliged to start in 13th place. On the tracks, he overtook Olivier Pain, then Pal Anders Ullevalseter and Quinn Cody, picking up the best time at the half-way point. However, in the final sandy section over the last 50km, Coma made up for time lost and even built up a lead of 1:18 over Despres. In the general standings, he takes command with a lead of 2:30 over Francisco Lopez. The provisional podium is completed by Despres, who nonetheless lags behind Coma by 2:52. On this Dakar, third place on the stages seems to be reserved for surprise packages. After Pizzolito yesterday, it was the turn of Joan Barreda to do combat with the masters in the discipline, finishing 2:33 behind Coma on the stage. The Spaniard, who in particular won two stages on the recent Rally of Morocco, is perhaps following in the tyre-tracks of his elder countryman. In fact, the Husqvarna rider was born in Castellon, a town that has welcomed stages of the Dakar three times.
Quotes
Marc Coma
"The start of the special was very fast today. Chaleco and me were riding at top speed and let me tell you, the Aprilia is very, very quick. After that, we arrived at the second part of the special with sand and dunes. It was a lot more technical, with some navigation to do as well. I took the lead and kept riding at a good pace. I'm happy because I didn't get lost. So, it's been a good day for me!"
Cyril Despres
"The first special was a good warm-up and this second special has done my confidence good... It was a good day overall. There was a bit of dust this morning overtaking, but most of the riders gave me enough room to pass, so I'd like to thank them. As for the second part of the special, it wasn't as easy on sand that was quite soft. All in all though, it was a pretty good day."
Serge, Bruno, Pablo and unknown
Francisco Lopez
"I opened the road until the 240 km point, with Marc following me, but then when we got to the dunes, he overtook me. I found it a bit difficult to follow, because I had a problem with my GPS aerial and I'm also quite tired. But these first two days of racing were important for me, to see how I am physically. I'm happy to have reached the finishing line. For the moment, I'm not thinking about the general standings, but I think there was a lot to lose today, because the special was very long and tricky."
