Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme : FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship

Laia Sanz wins her second victory in the women’s class

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:47:00 +0100

The Spanish rider continues to extend her fame with notable success in overcoming one of the hardest challenges that can face a woman on two wheels.

Laia was the only woman biker to finish the rally and she repeats the 39th place she won last year.

The Gas Gas rider had to contend with an injury to her right hand after a fall in the fourth stage and then go on alone after the ninth, when her backup Marc Guasch had to retire.

She's done it again! Laia Sanz has impressed the world in finishing for the second consecutive time in 39th place, the same result as she achieved in her debut last year in the Dakar Rally, the toughest bike trial on the planet. As she did then, the Gas Gas rider once again takes victory in the women's class home, where she must find space for this trophy beside her 11 titles as World Trial Champion, 10 continental titles in the speciality and 5 Nations Trial cups. This girl from Corbera de Llobregat thus adds to her fame as the best female bike rider of all times.

Always insatiable in her eagerness to improve, Laia Sanz started this year with the intention of doing battle on two wheels not only with the girls but also with the boys. Her ambition was to finish among the first 30 classified, but in the end she had to "settle" for an equally extraordinary 39th place in the final classification. Laia spoke of a result which concealed a great deal of effort: "I am better pleased with this year than the one before. It has been a very tough rally in some parts and the circumstances affecting me during the race made it even more complicated, but I kept going to the end. I am very satisfied with the way I rode and navigated. I think I have taken a very important step forward. I must thank Gas Gas for the opportunity that they gave me and all the team for their efforts and the great job they've done. We prepared this great project in a very short time and we should be proud. The bike also performed like a champion. It was fantastic and I am very happy. I dedicate this success to my team mate Marc Guasch, and I hope he recovers very soon".

A Dakar with difficult moments
The race started with stiffer demands than the riders had expected, above all with the tremendous heat in the Argentine stages. The Spanish multi-champion, who this year had physically prepared herself very conscientiously, overcame the harshness of the rally and in the third stage achieved a promising 35th scratch place. Unfortunately, she had missed two obligatory way points and was sanctioned 40 minutes, which dropped her back to 69th place.

This circumstance was a big handicap, as she then had to start the next special a long way back and was hampered on the track by the dust thrown up by other slower competitors. The situation was worsened for the Catalan girl when she had a fall which caused a hole in her fuel tank and a bad injury to her right hand. In spite of the pain, Laia showed exceptional resistance and went on, without complaining and without ceasing to recover places. "That day I thought I had broken my hand and would not be able to continue, but it was not so bad and after a couple of days with the help of the physiotherapist it was getting better. Hurting my hand was a shock, but what worried me more while I was out there was the bike. With the tank holed I was losing fuel and had to transfer fuel from Marc's bike. We almost didn't finish...".

In the eighth stage, Laia Sanz and the Gas Gas team had their saddest day: at 15 kilometres from the finish, Guasch had a serious fall which left him with four broken ribs, a perforated lung and damage to his spleen. Laia waited with him for an hour until he was taken away by helicopter and then she continued on her way. "It was the most shattering blow of the whole rally. I felt very disturbed by what had happened. I finished the day very upset, but in the Dakar there is never much time for lamenting, so in the next stage I just concentrated on what I had to do and the truth is that it didn't go badly", she said.

From that point Laia had to ride the remaining six stages without any help, but this was no problem for her. Her talent and tenacity enabled her to recover places every day and, at her 26 years and with only one previous participation in the Dakar, Laia showed extraordinary maturity: "I am very proud of the race I've finished because I navigated very well on all the days and I rode alone, reading the road book and being self-sufficient. I think I handled the race pretty well, without making too many mistakes and always minimising the risks and the wear on the Gas Gas".

Laia Sanz is the only woman biker to finish the Dakar this year. Her reign lasts until next first of January, when she will have to defend her title as winner in the women's class and face for the third consecutive time the challenge of the toughest raid rally in the world.

Camelia crowns her Dakar with the 9th position overall!

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:54:00 +0100

The Dakar 2012 was one of the hardest editions of the classic rally raid race in South America. Camelia Liparoti completes more than 8 000 kilometers and arrives to Lima in the 9th position overall.

"It was a very demanding Dakar," says the rider while she waits to go through the final podium in located in the Plaza de Armas of Lima. "I made it! With all its difficulties I made it with my Yamaha quad until the finish line!" tells Camelia full of happiness, as she is one of the 12 quads of the 33 that took the start in Mar del Plata fifteen days ago.

The big discovery of this edition was the inclusion of Peru in the race. "The ground seems like Africa, like Mauritania with its giant dunes. Also the fesh-fesh… During the first stage in Peru I would love to do better but with the deep fesh-fesh… I lost two hours to get out of it!" Explains the rider that I not ready to forget the episode.

But for this courageous woman, the Dakar went very fast. "I´m tired, but at the same time the race was so fast that I doesn´t even feel like it´s over! The two race weeks just flied away!" tells Camelia in Lima.

"I am satisfied of my result, but without the fesh-fesh problem in Peru´s first stage and without the time penalty taken when I changed the engine for precaution in the rest day I could have been higher in the standings… I will do better in 2013!" Assures the only lady in quad in the Dakar Argentina –Chile-Peru 2012.

Despres relishes fourth Dakar success

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:38:00 +0100

STAGE 14 : PISCO – LIMARoad connection: 134 km – Special Stage: 29 km – Road connection: 120 km – Total 283 kmThe Dakar 2012 is over. Cyril Despres (KTM) is the new champion and takes the victory in front of Marc Coma (KTM) who´s luck left him alone and Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha) that confirmed his high potential. Only 97 riders arrive to Lima out of the 178 that took the start in Argentina. In quads, they are only 11 that saw the checkered flag in the Peruvian Capital. A big round of applause to all men and women that go all the way to make their dreams come true in spite of the pain, fear, doubt and tiredness. For Cyril Despres, the Dakar was the hardest of his career. "Today I won and it´s just amazing! It is definitely the hardest Dakar I've been to. It was not only physically demanding, and also mentally. To make yourself questions every morning and to battle, it was hard in my head. It is not like a 42 kilometers marathon, the Dakar is a race that you must take the start of a challenge every morning! This victory is the victory for which I have fought the most in all rally races I've been to. All victories are beautiful, but I must say that this one is even sweeter because it was difficult until the end."

Coma second in Dakar 2012

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:25:00 +0100

Just before finishing the second liaison, the MRW rider is runner-up after winning five stages and despite having a mechanical failure that prevented him from continue fighting for victory With the last 29 timed kilometres already done and before finishing the last liaison, Marc Coma finishes in second position in a new Dakar edition. Always spectacular, the race was one more year a titanic round able to offer the most beautiful competitive images in the most hostile landscapes of the planet, where the duel between Cyril Despres and the MRW rider, today Champion and second placed, respectively, kept the excitement until the end. The mechanical failure he suffered yesterday prevented Coma from keeping the pressure on the French rider, after winning more stages -five- than any other rival. This afternoon the Dakar 2012 will finish in Lima, where the award ceremony will take place after 14 stages, three countries and nearly 9,000 kilometres. In his tenth participation, the MRW rider already has three overall wins –2006, 2009 y 2011– and two second places -2005 and 2012-, thus confirming himself as one of the well-known names of the race. What is your assessment of this 2012 Dakar ?
"I think the overall assessment is positive. We competed well and kept the winning options until the end, despite being behind a lot of the race. There is also the marshal's decision, difficult to understand, of giving back to Cyril [Despres] the time he lost the day of the problems. But apart from that, I think we did a very good race". Second overall position, five stage wins... Your aim was victory but, what do you think about the result?
"The objective was to win, but if you analyze the results, you can see that finishing second, win five stages and, above all, the race we did as a whole, I think we can be very happy". The mechanical failures are always something to take into account, it hurts more if they arrive the last day?
"We already had it difficult to win the Rally, because it was a complicated stage, with a lot of kilometers of dunes when I had to open track, but it is true that it makes you feel bad not being able to fight until the end, as we had during the whole rally. It is part of the game and in the Dakar the mechanical side is very important". What was the toughest thing of this edition?
"I think the fact that in some moments I had the feeling I was fighting against many factors". How demanding was this edition's route?
"At the beginning of the rally, in Argentina, it was very tough due to the weather conditions: we had 50ºC and the stages were very broken due to the rain of the previous days. In Chile we found a terrain we are more used to and everyone knew more or less what to expect. Finally, Peru surprised us for the toughness of the route. I think nobody expected the difficulties we had in the last days". How did you see Pedrero and what happened when he had to retire?
"I am very happy with the job done by Joan [Pedrero]. In the end, a mechanical failure left him out, but I think he is a crucial piece of the team. The fact that he did not finish was a setback, because the ideal thing is to have his support until the end".

Després all but winner

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:37:00 +0100

Saturday, January 14 STAGE 13: NASCA – PISCO

Road connection: 96 km – Special Stage 275 km – Road connection: 4 km – Total: 375 km The last big special of the Dakar 2012 was far from being simple for competitors. For leaders, Marc Coma started in front of Barreda and Viladoms. Cyril Despres, fourth to take the start, had evidently an advantage over the Catalonian who must open the road. Coma worked his road-book and navigation all night long and planned to take the necessary risks to hold the victory. Unfortunately, "Miss Bad Luck" came to visit him at kilometer 20… "I lost the second and third gear. In these conditions it was very difficult to follow the road-book and I had to improvise traces in the dunes, in fourth and fifth gear wasn't simple at all. I also lost time to go get a way point… But oh well, it wasn't my year, I had many things against me and I am disappointed that I couldn´t give the fight until the end," tells Coma. After this episode, it is Cyril Despres who heads the overall classification with more than 11 minutes over Coma while there is only a special of 28 kilometers left for tomorrow. "I cannot celebrate the problems of Marc. I attacked all day long and I got lost two or three times, but nothing so bad. The race is not over yet… the finish line is for tomorrow," assures the French rider. It was Helder Rodrigues who signed the stage win of this special that took competitors to Pisco. The Cross Country Rally World Champion won the stage followed by Despres, Viladoms, Barreda and Gonçalves. The timed section, plenty of sand with beach and dunes, caused some damages: David Casteu felt and his bike landed on his back and suffers from his ribs, Alain Duclos hurt his knee and his ankle while Mika Pisano will arrive in a Tango (medical car on the race track) due to a broken engine… In quads, the victory of the day was for Maffei in front of La Fuente and the two Patronelli, Alejandro and Marcos, while Camelia Liparoti takes the 7th position. Overall, Alejandro Patronelli keeps the lead in front of his brother and 2h15' over Tomas Maffei.

Tight prior to final

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:50:00 +0100

STAGE 12: AREQUIPA - NASCA
Road connection: 259 km - Special Stage: 245 km – Total: 505 km The village of Nasca, well-known in the world due to its lines traced in the ground more than 2000 years ago, receives the 12th stage of the Dakar. Riders slept at Camana, 150 km from Arequipa and this morning had a shorter road connection than cars to get to the start of the special stage. The timed section, of 245 kilometers, crossed very difficult dunes. 106 bikes and 13 quads were admitted to take the start of the special. On top, suspense for the victory continues. Cyril Despres started in front of Gerard Farres and Marc Coma attacked from the beginning focused in navigation to avoid any possible mistake. The Catalonian takes another stage win 2'43'' over Barreda and Viladoms. Depres lost 3'57'' on Coma but he will start tomorrow with the advantage of being 4th for the last long special section of the Dakar 2012. "The special was amazing, I expected that Marc (Coma) was going to take back some minutes, but the special was great. It was one of the most beautiful stages I´ve done in the Dakar. Tomorrow I start 4th. Nothing is written but Marc will open the road tomorrow, and that is an advantage," says Despres. Marc Coma, leads the overall standings 1'35'' over Despres. "I focused in navigation and then I attacked in the second part to get on Cyril. Tomorrow everything can happen, it won´t be easy." Some riders were victims of "vapor lock" due to the high temperatures. Mathieu Serradori, Jes Munk… Olivier Pain was "touched" by a car and finishes 35th today. Farres, second yesterday, had many falls in the dunes which obligated him to lower his pace and crossed the finish line 20th. In quads, once again it was Marcos Patronelli who signs another victory in front of his brother Alejandro, Maffei and La Fuente. Chilean rider Casale stopped at kilometer 105 and was able to continue and finished 5th in front of Tonetti.

Laia Sanz, alone in the marathon stage

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:14:00 +0100

The Gas Gas rider is putting up a splendid performance in the second half of the race.

"Today I finished exhausted, but I am very pleased with the work done in a very tough stage".

Laia Sanz finished the eleventh special in 39th place, another great result for her, continuing her improvement in the general classification so that she is now in 40th place, just one place from equalling her result in last year's event.

The Dakar is a continuous challenge and for Laia it could be no less. The Gas Gas rider faced the marathon stage today, the first of this type since 2007. In practice this meant that the Dakar Women's Champion could not get help from the team mechanic, the same as for the other bikers, but neither could she count on her team mate Marc Guasch, who is still in hospital in Chile, progressing well. Laia had to manage servicing her bike by herself and bivouac to be ready for the twelfth stage of the rally tomorrow.

For this reason the Spanish girl has kept up her precautions of the last few days, but without missing any chance to move up a place: "Today's stage was bike-breaking. We had to ford two rivers where the water came up to waist level and in one of them there was a current that swept you away. In the first ford there were a lot of riders with problems getting across, because it was easy to lose your balance and the bike could fall over. For many of them water had got into the filter and they found it difficult to start the engines again. So I looked for another place to cross, a little further away, trying it out, and it worked well. Then we came to an area of around 40 kilometres with "fesh fesh" which was very hard, both for the riders and for the bikes. There I finished up absolutely wrecked. I thought I was the only one to be so tired, but when I came to the finishing line everyone was saying how exhausted they were. In the last part there were some very fast stretches, but I took it quietly".

The Dakar is now in Peru

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:31:00 +0100

Stage 11: Arica - Arequipa
Road connection: 90 km – Special Stage: 148 km – Road connection: 130 km - Special Stage: 255 km – Road connection: 82 km – Total: 705 km

The Dakar is now in Peru, the 27th country crossed by this race since its beginning! The physiognomy of people changes; in the markets, women wear typical hats, and in the road to Arequipa, the crowd was out for the party to watch the Dakar caravan pass by.

For bikes and quads, the race track was going to be different from that of the cars, but it was finally modified and the same for all categories due to the high water level of rivers. The stage was carried out in two parts, with a neutralized section where riders, that sleep tonight in a different bivouac for their marathon stage (with no assistance) 150 kilometers from the one of the cars, were able to be helped by their mechanics.

During the first part, competitors crossed two deep rivers. Many riders drowned in it, among them Faria, Duclos, the Yamaha bikes… and other like Coma, Després, Barreda took the wrong way at kilometer 40 and had to turn back to catch the right track. At the finish line of this special, a brand new trio: Farres leading the stage, followed by the incredible Johnny Aubert and Felipe Zanol.
The second part of the special took place in the mountains, with a dreadful downhill of 45 degrees in fesh-fesh, and in the gray dunes… At the finish line, Cyril Després took time back to Coma, who expected this situation: "He started behind, it is completely normal that he was able to catch some minutes. Tomorrow it is me who starts behind… In this game there is nothing else to do than to attack." But today, the victory did not belong to Cyril or Marc; it was Gerard Farres who won… which means that Marc can still take four minutes back to Després tomorrow. The suspense is huge and there are still three days to go!

Regarding quads, the Patronelli brothers helped each other all along the special stage. Marcos got out of the first river and went back to help his brother who was blocked in the middle. Further, in the second part, he also took him out from the fesh-fesh, where a wheel of the quad was blocked. The two sympathetic Argentineans finished 31 seconds one from the other while Maffei was 19 minutes away. Overall, Alejandro is followed by Marcos while Maffei is more than 2 hours behind!

Laia Sanz displays her talents navigating solo

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:18:00 +0100

She successfully passed through the two trickiest navigation points in the stage, never doubting which way to go.

The Catalan rider stopped to help a Turkish rider who had suffered an accident in the last part of the stage.

Laia Sanz continues advancing at a good pace in her route to the finishing line in Lima. The Gas Gas rider again managed the special with intelligence, taking no risks and finishing the tenth stage, between Iquique and Arica, in 47th position. In the general classification she moves up five places to reach 41st.

Since she has been without her backup, Laia has shown a firm determination to reach the finish and in order to do that she understands clearly how she must handle the race. This trial multi-champion is demonstrating a veteran skill really unexpected in a girl for whom this is only her second time in the always difficult Dakar Rally: "I didn't go very fast in order to save the mechanics with a view to the coming days. Today there were riders who had engine failure and I don't want that to happen to me. Tomorrow we have the marathon stage and I will have no mechanic, so I don't want any surprises and I will go extra carefully. I am very aware that I have to take a comfortable but safe rhythm and this is what I'm doing".

Sanz, who has been riding solo since her team mate Marc Guasch had to retire, is showing that she is very secure in the navigation: "I'm happy because I'm finding it fairly easy to read the road book and navigate. In the dunes, today, there were a couple of tricky points where a lot of people got lost. Fortunately, I found the right way and that helped to give me more confidence".

At the end of the stage, Laia could have improved her result but she stopped to help a Turkish rider who had fallen: "The boy had to communicate with the organisation because he had injured an arm and he could only speak Turkish, so I stopped to help him. I hope he's OK".

Tomorrow the rally moves into Peru where there is a timed stage of 478 kilometres.

Marc Guasch, the Gas Gas rider who was backup to Laia Sanz until his accident, is still under observation, conscious and showing good progress after the serious injuries he received.

STAGE 10: Iquique – Arica

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:38:00 +0100

Road connection: 68 km – Special Stage: 376 km – Road connection: 249 km – Total: 694 km

Iquique – Arica is the last stage in Chile before crossing the border to Peru. Competitors descended to the south to take a special stage where the landscape between the ocean and the dunes was amazing. After it, a fesh-fesh area that reminded them that they were well at the Dakar, the hardest race of the world. At the bivouac in Arica, the heat wave is back… like it was in Argentina.

Joan Barreda showed off his talent today and reached his first stage victory in the Dakar. The Catalonian profited of Marc Coma to take 1'30'' of advantage over him. Coma also took advantage of a navigation mistake from Cyril Despres and took him back 2 minutes. The two KTM official riders have the same speech: "With the same team, the victory is just for one rider. We are both at 100% so the Peruvian part of the Dakar will be decisive." Helder Rodrigues keeps managing his race and was 4th of the day, in front of Viladoms, Svitko, Ullevalseter and Olivier Pain.

Behind, many riders made a mistake at km 237: Ruben Faria, Juan Pedrero, Felipe Zanol, Alain Duclos and Gerard Farres… and they lost time. Casteu, who broke the engine yesterday, faced mechanical problems again and finished the stage 51st. The young Italian rider Manuel Luchese arrived this morning at 7.20 a.m. to start again at 7.30, but his startup problems continued and he broke the engine at kilometer 138.

In quads, Tomas Maffei marks a stage victory 12´56´´ over Marcos Patronelli and 13´26´´ over his brother Alejandro. The only lady in quad, Camelia Liparoti, is 10th of the day and 7th overall. In the overall standings, the Patronelli brothers take the lead.

Laia Sanz overcomes the loss of her team mate with a super run

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:45:00 +0100

The Gas Gas rider finished in 40th place to confirm her best classification in the Dakar Rally 2012.

The only girl among the bikers, Laia faces the rest of the race without her backup and she is full of confidence in her own abilities.

Laia Sanz has recovered well from the hard blow suffered by the Gas Gas team yesterday, when Marc Guasch had to quit the Dakar Rally due to a heavy fall which caused him several broken ribs, a perforated lung and damage to the spleen, among other injuries. The Dakar women's champion had no alternative than to pluck up courage, set aside her worry about her team mate and face the ninth stage of the rally with steadfastness.

In front of her were 556 kilometres (126 of them cancelled) and, for the first time since the rally began, the only woman still in the race had to face the desert alone and all the possible difficulties which could appear along the way. The girl from Corbera de Llobregat reacted with strength and courage, asserting her character as is normal in a competitor of her stature, and gave a great performance in today's stage, the ninth of the rally. The eleven times Women's Trial World Champion finished the special in 40th place, her best classification in this Dakar event, and in the general she holds position 46.

"It was a very good day because I could ride without anyone in front to bother me, without dust, and for 90% of the special I was on my own without seeing a single other bike. It was a fantastic feeling and I also navigated well, without mistakes and with a good safe rhythm", said Laia.

The Gas Gas rider also spoke about Marc Guasch, but she emphasised that she is resolute in facing the rest of the rally: "I am very sad for him and I'm so sorry about what has happened to him. In terms of the sport, his absence is a great loss to the team, but I feel very strong and have a lot of confidence in getting through the rest of the race. I am not at all afraid about going on alone. I know my abilities and I will try to get to the finish, and to do so in the best place that I can. The only thing that worries me is if something goes wrong and I don't know how to deal with it, for the rest I am quite calm".

Dakar along the Pacific Ocean

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:43:00 +0100

Stage 9: Antofagasta – Iquique
Road connection: 9 km - Special Stage : 340 km – Special Stage : 90 km – Road connection : 126 km – Total : 565 km

Antofagasta – Iquique, a new stage of emotions for Dakar competitors that took the race track to Iquique, the duty free area of Chile, situated in the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

The stage was again divided in two parts separated by a neutralized section. Well traced fast tracks, deep fesh-fesh, and delicate navigation to finish with the amazing descend of Iquique, more than 700 km, a giant toboggan that took them straight to the bivouac located next to the Pacific Ocean.

Cyril Despres, started in seventh position, had all the fun chasing Marc Coma, who fought him as best as he could but lost the overall lead by 2'28''. "I am ready for the combat – tells the French- and I know it will be second by second, but that is not a problem for me. This kind of race works for me." Marc Coma, next to him, is not ready to let go either. "I opened the road and navigation wasn´t easy. It´s race facts and it makes this sport more interesting. Yesterday, KTM changed our engines after we completed half of the race," tells the Catalonian rider. Pal Ullevalseter also changed his engine, and the 15 minutes penalty will be applied in the overall standings tomorrow.

Despres takes a new stage victory 3'54'' over Coma, followed by Barreda 8'28'' behind, Rodrigues and Gonçalves, Ullevalseter and Svitko. David Casteu is at km 516 stopped by a mechanical problem.

Dakar: Stage 8, Copiapó – Antofagasta

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:27:00 +0100

After a well-deserved rest day, competitors are back in the race with a long stage of more than 700 kilometers from Copiapó to Antofagasta. The bivouac installed in La Portada, in front of the Pacific Ocean and a soft breeze helps to calm down some souls heated by the issues at the start of the special stage in the desert.

In fact, at kilometer 11, a swamp was formed after the passage of the opening car, for which there was not a single note in the road-book or in the modifications given yesterday. Marc Coma was the first to arrive to it, and he managed to get out. Cyril Despres, Faria, Farres, Rodrigues, Ullevalseter, Conçalves and Casteu tried to go through it with some difficulties… specially Despres…

At the finish line, Marc Coma had 25 minutes over his rival, but the direction of the race decided to give back the time lost in this incident to the seven riders. Coma takes a new stage victory only 7 seconds in front of Faria, Rodrigues, Barreda, Svitko, Despres (9'14'' from the winner) Pedrero, Casteu and Viladoms. Coma takes back the overall lead one minute over Despres.

"During the last 100 kilometers, my engine started to rattle," tells Coma at the finish line. "I don´t know if it is because of the altitude we have crossed over the race but I slowed my pace. I tried not to lose time in the mud and I saw how others were trapped in… This is my 20th stage victory but the important thing is to win the race, not the stages…"

Cyril Despres crossed the line covered by mud. "I felt on the mud pool, and I think that the organization should take a decision because it was not on the notes from the opening car and it is not fair that because I am in front, I have to pay for this mistake," said the French rider.

Helder Rodrigues, Cross Country Rally World Champion, was also trapped, was helped by Gerard Farres. Like Coma, at the finish, his bike didn´t work as well. Regarding Ullevalseter, it is Etienne Lavigne himself that blackened his white shirt to help him to get out.

This evening, the Jury will might deliver a decision if a rider presents a claim to the race direction.

Dakar - Rest stage: Interview with Laia Sanz

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:40:00 +0100

With the Dakar Rally now at its halfway point, Laia Sanz weighs up her performance so far in this 2012 event. Last year's Dakar Women's Champion is the only woman still in the race, she holds 51st place in the provisional classification for motorbikes.

-In the fourth stage you had a fall and injured your right hand. How is it now?
-My hand is now fine. On the day of the fall I was really scared because the hand was very swollen and I couldn't hold the handlebar. I thought I had broken it, but fortunately not and in three days, with the help of the physiotherapist (Miguel Ángel Domínguez), it is already much better.

-After the first week, how are you feeling?
-Now I'm fine. The truth is that I found the first three days very tough and more exhausting than these last. Perhaps it is because now I'm into the rhythm of not sleeping very much. Anyway, I think I have got through to the rest day in good shape, even yesterday in the last part of the stage I felt well, which means that I'm in good shape. I feel strong.

-Did you expect the first week to be so hard?
-The initial impression was that the Dakar would be very hard, because I found the first stages very difficult. Perhaps there were fewer kilometres than last year but they were very slow to do and very physical, and then it was also very hot and it was easy to become dehydrated.

-Last year you came to the rest day in 48th place. How do you rate your results this time?
I had hoped to be a little higher up. If it hadn't been for the hole in the fuel tank which happened when I fell and which lost me a lot of time, I would be much better classified, particularly because when you have a problem which drops you down the classification, the next day it is much harder to get into the rhythm. What happens is that the people in front of you are going more slowly than you are, but you are held back by the dust that they throw up and you cannot get past, and it ends up as a vicious circle.

-What can we expect from you for the rest of the race?
-If I stay steadily among the first 50 I can improve on the 39th place of last year. What is important is to understand that I don't need to ride very fast but I do need to go without hurry, without taking risks and being aware that people will be dropping out. The Dakar above all is a race against oneself. We have now changed the engine, to be safer and more confident on the mechanical side. A lot of people have preferred to wait, but I fear that some will soon have problems because the desert is very damaging.

-How is the Gas Gas 450 going?
-The bike is going very well, with no problems. This project was prepared in a very short time and without doing any training in Morocco, so that naturally every day we see some detail to be improved, but I am very satisfied.

-Last year you had Jordi Arcarons as a luxury backup rider. How are things with your new companion Marc Guasch?
-I am pleasantly surprised as I did not think we would get on together so well. We are doing a great job and I even believe I have done more kilometres with him than I did last year with Jordi. Marc wants us to go quietly, he advises me very well and keeps me calm.

-You are the only woman left in the race. What has happened this year?
-In this Dakar Rosa Romero and I were the only two in the motorbike class. I was rather surprised, but it's possible that the toughness of the Dakar has discouraged more than one. I imagine that the economic situation at the moment is no help either…. I would like to have competed against more girls.

Laia Sanz, only woman in the race

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:13:00 +0100

The reigning Dakar Women's Champion comes to the rest day with her injured hand almost completely recovered. Her target now is to achieve a good position in the general.The relatively quiet day for the Dakar Rally competitors yesterday, due to the cancellation of the special time trial, was good for Laia Sanz. It was a relief for her hand, now much recovered from the injury she suffered when she fell in the fourth stage, and she was able to ride with few troubles. Laia, the only woman still in the race in the motorbike class, crossed the finishing line of the seventh stage in 48th place, which lifts her by 6 to 51st place in the general classification. As she said, the fearsome Copiapó – Copiapó loop "was not as hard as I expected". "In fact, this was the first day when everything went well and I really enjoyed it. At the beginning we couldn't go very fast because we were on a track and there was a lot of dust, but after the refuelling we came to the desert and I could overtake several riders without a problem. I am pleased because the day went well and my hand is much better".

Rampant Coma reigns in Copiapo

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:33:00 +0100

Stage 7: Copiapó – CopiapóRoad connection: 154 km – Special Stage: 143 km – Road connection: 57.72 km – Special Stage: 218 Km – Total : 574 km After yesterday´s long road connection, riders were glad to get back in the race. This first special stage in Chile was the loop around Copiapó, with two timed section separated by a neutralized section. To avoid the Camanchaca, the morning fog in the Atacama Desert between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, the start of the race was given 150 kilometers away from the bivouac and bikes took the timed section around 10 a.m. As expected, the two leaders continue to fight for the title separated only by meters. Started second this morning, Marc Coma wins and takes two minutes on Cyril Després. David Castera announced that navigation was going to be an issue. At kilometer 289, Joan Barreda took a walk in the wrong direction and some riders behind followed him and it is possible that they have missed some way points and will take time penalties. Around 3 p.m., the helicopters of the organization were flying over the bivouac, where the finish line was placed. Marc Coma (KTM) takes the stage victory and takes 2'03'' to Cyril Despres (KTM) while Paolo Conçalves (Husqvarna) is third, 2'49'' in front of Helder Rodrigues, Gerard Farres, Pal Ullevalseter, David Casteu, Ruben Faria and Jordi Viladoms. Behind, Francisco López, so glad to be in his homeland, had a fall and was injured on the knee but finished 22nd. His team Aprilia team mate stopped at kilometer 18 because of a technical problem. In quads, the Patronelli brothers took back the lead, and it was Marcos who pointed first at CP2, in front of Alejandro while Maffei is far back in the standings. At the finish line, all positions were shaken and if Alejandro Patronelli confirms his victory, the second place goes to Ignacio Casale followed by Sergio La Fuente. Marcos Patronelli is far back in the 12th (provisional) position.

Snowfalls halt Dakar

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:44:00 +0100

STAGE 6: FIAMBALA – COPIAPORoad connection: 663 km – Total : 663 km SPECIAL STAGE FIAMBALA – COPIAPO CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS After two days, the news concerning the weather conditions over Paso San Francisco were bad: snow and temperatures below zero on top of the Andes, while the heat wave bordered 45 ° on the skirts… Yesterday, the Chilean authorities closed the summit of the mountain that crosses Argentina to Chile because the rain and the snow made this soil impossible to drive on. At 9 p.m., Etienne Lavigne and David Castera announced to competitors that they will leave the bivouac starting at 8 a.m. to take a different itinerary than the one planned after the border, 200 kilometers longer. The logistic engaged was also blocked, which insured that the decision taken was wise. This morning, the sun shined over the snow that covered the volcano called Incahuasi, at the moment competitors crossed the frontier. Tomorrow, the loop Copiapo – Copiapo will certainly make a difference and leave some memories!

Dakar's stage 6 cancelled

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:39:00 +0100

Due to the bad weather continuing over the Andes Cordillera (rain and snow), the Chilean authorities were forced to close, for the night, the border at Paso de San Francisco, situated at 4700m. As a result, the stage six is cancelled For the 7th time, the Dakar is about to cross over the Andes, and because of very unfavourable conditions, added to the fact that the course has been hit by rain and snow, in order to guarantee the security of the competitors and those following the rally, the organisers have decided to organise a convoy for all vehicles tomorrow. The itinerary has been changed after the border (follow the main road on the right which goes to Diego de Almagro).

Camelia Liparoti - Stage 1 to 5

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:45:00 +0100

"Each day is a hard Stage!", Camelia Liparoti shares her first five stages of the Dakar 2012 from the mythical bivouac of Fiambalá. The quad rider occupies the 10th position in the quads overall standings until this stage.

The first stages of the Dakar 2012 in Argentina have been all difficult for Camelia Liparoti and for all other riders as well. 178 bikes and 30 quads took the start in Mar del Plata, and more than twenty are no longer in the competition.

The only lady in the quad category of the Dakar 2012 shares her experience in Argentina.

"Even if this year we are for the fourth time in this country, the tracks are interesting and different. We started in Mar del Plata in front of the Atlantic Ocean. We headed North, and the heat and long road connections haven´t given us a break!

The landscapes we crossed were just magnificent. Yesterday, during the stage San Juan – Chilecito, I thought I was in Algeria, in the canyons, red rocks… it was incredible!

I could not tell which of the stages so far have been the most difficult. Each one of them has been a challenge on itself. I am glad to be here, there are so many withdrawals… and I am still here with my Yamaha.

I feel in shape, and I am proud of my provisional 10th place overall, but there are still thousands of kilometers to complete before the finish line in Lima!"

This morning, the rally caravan must cross the Argentinean border to Chile by the frontier of Paso San Francisco at 4 700 meters from the sea level. Due to the weather conditions (more than a meter of snow!) the organizer decided to cancel this first stage on the Chilean soil. Competitors and their teams will carry out a modified itinerary and must join the bivouac of Copiapo in group. The race will continue with the loop around this city on Saturday.

Despres heads Coma

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:28:00 +0100

STAGE 5 : CHILECITO – FIAMBALA Road connection: 151 km – Special Stage: 189 km – Road connection : 79 km – Total : 416 km The rain of the previous days vanished the difficulties of the Dakar´s famous stage. The bikes did not to take the same itinerary with cars. They took a late start, at 9 a.m. and the timed section was shortened of 79 km before getting to the bivouac of Fiambala. This decision must have been a delight for amateur riders that are already tired with the start of this unforgiving Dakar. On top, Coma and Després took the wrong way after CP1 and had to make a U turn to take back the right track, just like Helder Rodrigues, who lost time on Chaleco López. After this, the Chilean is only one minute behind the Portuguese rider that occupies the third position on the standings. In spite of the fight lived in the tracks, it was nice to watch Rodrigues, Chaleco, Viladoms and Farres sitting in the bivouac telling each other their adventures of the day… Frans Verhoeven was obligated to change the engine of his Sherco yesterday, but today, after a first stop, it seems the rider went back to his assistance to find a solution to a new mechanical problem. Alain Duclos, having Juan Pedrero on sight, had a fall that cost him a broken down GPS and the road-book roller. He got back on his feet and started over following the dust and traces, and turning his road-book manually. He got trapped in the sand twice! In quads, Marcos Patronelli finally took his revenge and earns the victory of the last stage in Argentina, 2 seconds away from his brother Alejandro and Tomás Maffei. The sky change its color far from Fiambala and it snowed over Paso San Francisco, the passage in altitude that competitors must go through tomorrow at dawn to start the race in Chile.