Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme : FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Cup - Women

Camelia Liparoti: World Cup Winner for the third time!

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:29:00 +0200

For the third consecutive time, Camelia Liparoti becomes the FIM Women´s Cross Country Rally World Cup winner on Yamaha. The French-Italian quad rider knows this new title means no rest as she prepares her participation in Dakar 2012 and other surprises.Camelia Liparoti had a very busy year in 2011, but this didn´t push her away from the Cross Country Rally World Champion. The rider took part of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Sardinia Rally Race and Pharaons Rally 2011, were she was crowned as the discipline´s queen for the third time.Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was a tough race, with strong local riders, but her perseverance allowed her to be the first lady in the standings. "A woman on the podium in Abu Dhabi is an amazing achievement for me, it is a victory in a men´s world!" says Liparoti.Camelia participated in Sardinia Rally Race with a Yamaha Grizzly 700. "The race has some portions of enduro style, and navigation is complicated so it was hard to stay aware of everything at the same time, but I made it!"Pharaons Rally allowed her to combine her helmet with the team manager hat. The experience on her Yamaha Raptor 700 turned into success. "The difficulties of this race were harder than last year, and I even get a stage win! I am proud of the outcome of the adventure with Yamaha in the World Championship!"Nevertheless, Camelia has no time to celebrate yet. Next projects are her participation on the Dakar, for which she prepares her material to be shipped to Buenos Aires before the end of November, and the other is a challenge with herself. "I am proud to announce that after the Dakar, I will take part of the Marathon des Sables. I will measure myself against the desert all alone in a 250 km running race…" shares Liparoti, ready to go further.

Dakar is the new target for the World Champion !

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:44:00 +0100

The winner of the 2009 World Quad Championship for Women, Camelia Liparoti, also finished in second position in the overall quad classification.
Now, the Italian is looking towards the Dakar. A challenge which she sees as an opportunity to get her revenge. Having failed to finish on the podium in the 2009 edition, she is quite determined to remedy that situation in January 2010… The field is of an extremely high quality, and Camelia is well aware of the challenges which await her...

"To finish in the right group … "
" The Dakar is never easy… There are so many parametres that can change the course of the event. I hope to finish the event in the right place. I wouldn't dare to make a guess on the result; there will be plenty of time for that later. This year, the field is of a particularly high quality. With around thirty quads taking part, this is real recognition for us. And looking down the entry list, it's clear that there's a good crowd ! Around a dozen competitors could claim the win. It is going to be a really good fight, with some top-level battles. I must admit that I am proud today to drive in this category… My only regret is that I will be the only woman taking part in the quad class, and that there are very few women in the bikes as well."

Practice .. the key to success ! The Dakar is a demanding race, both physically and mentally. To drive at the top level for two whole weeks needs unfailing energy. Camelia has never neglected this aspect of the sport, and works on her physical training with determination. As far as the mental side is concerned, there are no worries, as she has plenty of good advice from her 'godfather' in the sport, Luc Alphand, who won the Dakar in 2006.

" I train with a coach in Chamonix. It helps me a lot in order to face the Dakar, where the altitudes in the Andes can give you vertigo. Between now and the start of the race on January 1st, I will continue my preparations in order to be as sharp as a knife !"

"Always think that the hardest is yet to come… " Having read the route carefully, Camelia is beginning to get a good idea of what lies ahead. One stage in particular has caught her attention… the day before the rest day. !

" In Chile, between Iquique and Antofagasta (where the rest day will take place), this 7th stage seems to include a number of potential traps, including a " salar ", which is around 3 km long…. A salar is a stretch of desert interspersed with large blocks of dry salt, where speeds can drop to less than 10 km/h… It reminds me of the El Djérid saline lake in Tunisia, where I saw a few good drivers get caught out and lose time. As a matter of fact, the organisation will accept late arrivals until 18:00 the next day, before they are declared to be out of the race. That is a true sign of how difficult this stage is likely to be... No matter what happens, I will face each day philosophically. On the Dakar, there are not fifty different ways to succeed… you have to be careful and cautious, and always think that the hardest is yet to come… " You will be able to follow

Camelia " on line ": www.dakar.com

Camelia Liparoti on the road to the title!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:30:00 +0200

After the Dakar 2009 in Argentina, Camelia Liparoti has launched herself into the Cross-Country Rally World Championship (ex Rally-Raid) on her quadbike KTM 525 XC. She is battling for the title in the Female motorbike-quadbike category and for a podium position in the the overall quadbike scratch category.

" This year, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has opened the World Championship. This has been my first contact with the Emirates desert. This rally has given me immense moments of pleasure. Riding a quadbike among the gigantic dunes of the desert of Rub'al Khali was equally an excellent school of sand piloting. I finished the rally in 7th position out of the 13 quadbikes engaged in the race.

The Oillibya Rally in Tunisia/Libya was the second test, a small version of the Dakar rally with 650 kilometres to cover in just one day ......and there were 11 days racing in total ! I finished on the podium in second place.

The last rally to which I participated, the Rally Race of Sardinia in Italy, was the third World Championship test of the calendar, a classical enduro race but with navigation. A difficult course on a fantastic terrain, but often with very technical spots where quads do not pass very easily. With these challenging conditions, it was not simple to battle with the motorbikes. I finished at the podium feet in 4th position of the scratch quadbike category.

After three races, I am currently in first position of the Rally Cross-Country World Championship Female motorbike-quadbike category and in second position within the quadbike scratch category."

Always fully passionate in her approach, Camelia has conquered this sport discipline 100%.

" These rallys allow me to improve my riding and navigation skills.
I live in Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France, where it is not easy to practice quadbike riding due to environmental restrictions. I therefore compensate this with a strong physical condition and a positive mental attitude. These conditions are crucial during a rally-raid when human head is in control!"

The next World Championship race is at the beginning of October in Egypt with the Pharaons Rally before the final race in Morocco later during the same month.

" I very much hope to be able to give KTM the title of Cross-Country Rally World Championship in the Female motorbike-quadbike category."

Third for Cyril Despres! First for Orlando Terranova

Sun, 03 May 2009 12:13:00 +0200

The last stage, run in the form of two loops around Nefta, allowed Cyril Despres to pull away from his rivals and take his 3rd OiLibya de Tunisie ahead of Marc Coma, a little 'lost' first time around. The battle for the third place between the Spaniard Jordi Viladoms and 'Chaleco' Lopez finally went in favour of the Chilean for just 13 seconds – incredible after 11 days of racing…

In the 450 class Olivier Pain achieved his goal and won his category after a hard fight with Bruno Da Costa and Luca Manca. After having dominated since the start of the rally, Lionel Laine wins ahead of Camelia Liparoti and the current world champion Karim Dilou. In the cars Orlando Terranova wins his first World Cup event at the wheel of his BMW X3 ahead of an incisive Christian Lavieille and his Proto Dessoude. Guerlain Chicherit puts the second BMW on the third step of the podium. In the 2-wheel class Pascal Thomasse and his MD Buggy pips Jean-Louis Schlesser, while Jerome Pelichet takes the Wildcat Trophy. The Russian pairing of Varentsov-Elagin wins the T2 class. Finally Alain Coquelle, Frederic Becart and Dominique Lefevre take the truck victory.

The end of 11 days of intense racing saw an explosion of joy. Right from the first loop this morning, Cyril Despres hit hard, taking advantage of a navigation error by his rival Marc Coma. On the second lap the Frenchman only had to control the situation to take the victory. The Spaniard finally finished 5'57 behind to take second place. Winning here for the third time, after 2002 and 2004, Cyril Despres was delighted with the result on a race of this quality. For the third place the battle was even closer. 4th yesterday evening, 'Chaleco' showed his tactical skill. Marking his rival Jordi Viladoms over the first stage he let him cross the finish line first. Then on the second lap, with the Spaniard in his sights, the Chilean attacked hard to win by just 13 seconds. In the 450 class Olivier Pain, very in form over these last few days, wins ahead of Bruno Da Costa, Luca Manca and the first lady home Virginie Premat. Mission accomplished for the 2008 winner , 9th overall. No last minute surprises in the quads. As since the beginning of the race, Lionel Laine won ahead of Camelia Liparoti, with whom he has run a team race these last few days. With the two KTMs in the first two places, Karim Dilou and his Yamaha made it to third place after a multitude of mechanical problems.

The 27th Rallye OiLibya de Tunisie was varied and demanding, both in terms of navigation and driving. An edition which continues in the great tradition of African rallies.

Quotes of the day…

Cyril DESPRES – KTM – 1st
I am especially pleased as my first rally was here back in 1998. A few years later I am still here with a great bike and a great team. To win here on a technical route where navigation takes on a real importance makes victory even sweeter. With Marc it is always extremely close but since the beginning of the year it has, up until now, gone his way. KTM have entered Marc and I on all the World Championship rounds. Marc won in Abu Dhabi and I win here. In three weeks we will be in Sardinia to fight it out again.

Marc COMA – KTM – 2nd
Even if I missed the win it was important to finish second so as to take as many points as possible for the World Championship. I am very happy to have participated on this Rallye de Tunisie where I felt good on the bike and navigated well. It was a big rally with 11 days of racing and very varied terrain. I would like to thank my team for all their hard work. To return to Africa is always something special and in Tunisia I have many friends and it is a pleasure to see again.

" Chaleco " LOPEZ – KTM – 3rd
It has been a fine rally and I have fought right til the end. It is so different to South America and I am satisfied with the result. I liked the terrain and enjoyed myself a lot.

Olivier PAIN – YAMAHA – 1st 450cc
I am satisfied with my result. The 450 class win was my objective before the start and I have achieved it. For the overall I could have perhaps done better, but I proved over these last stages that I was present with my little 450. I found the rally especially difficult this year – long specials and little time to relax. The rest of the season will depend on my budget as I am an amateur rider…

Bruno DA COSTA– HONDA- 2nd 450cc
I am happy to be at the finish. I had a scare when I broke my chain last Thursday and lost the lead in the 450 class as a result. This rally was hard and with a 450 I prefer technical pistes rather than fast ones. As far as the navigation I feel much more at east compared with my first rally in Morocco three years ago. I would even go as far as to say I actually like it now.

Luca MANCA – TM – 3rd 450cc
A good, hard race. This is my second event in Africa and feel I have made progress since Egypt, even if I need to be better at navigation.

Virginie PREMAT – YAMAHA – 1st Lady
Delighted – I made it to the finish and achieved my objective. Now I am going to set myself tougher goals. I have gained confidence on the bike, I have worked hard and been rewarded for my efforts and now I would like to do other rallies

Despres moves up, Terranova holds steady...

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:20:00 +0200

The third stage between Oued Mellah and Ras el Oued gave the competitors the chance to let rip over a varied 365 km special of sandy pistes, bumpy going and compressions. An African timed section which both motorcycle and car drivers seemed to unanimously appreciate. In the bike class the overall changes, with Cyril Despres taking the lead by just over 2 minutes on Marc Coma and a little more than 12 over David Casteu. The two factory riders have already pulled out a substantial gap over their rivals and appear ready to commence battle between themselves. In the quad class Lionel Laine is still
comfortably in control. In the cars Terranova once again wins the special and is now 1'40 ahead of Leonid Novitskiy overall, with Nicolas Misslin 3rd at just over 5 minutes. Meanwhile Jean-Louis Schlesser got stuck in a bog and was pulled out by a sporting Guerlain Chicherit – both men losing a good 15 minutes in the operation.

For many the race 'proper' got underway today over the varied terrain of the special to Ras el Oued. With typical African going and plenty of navigation Cyril Despres was delighted to post the fastest time and take the overall lead. Marc Coma finished 3 minutes behind and is now just over 2 minutes down overall with 'Chaleco Lopez and David Casteu already more than 10 minutes further back. After just three stages the gap is already becoming significant between the two factory KTM riders and the rest of the pack, which includes Jordi Viladoms, Pal Anders Ullevalseter and Olivier Pain, fastest in the 450 class and who in the process takes the class lead off Luca Manca by a tiny margin.
The quads also appreciated the terrain with Lionel Laine once again showing World Champion Karim Dilou and the Italian Camelie Liparoit the way home.
Tomorrow the rally crosses the Libyan border after 280 kilometres of 'Far West' navigation through the canyons.

Quotes of the day…

Cyril DESPRES – KTM
It is exactly for that type of the special that I love rally-raid – lots of navigation with different pistes and compass headings, washouts, braking, acceleration. It is two years that I haven't done an African special and it is good to be back. You needed to stay really concentrated and get on the gas.

Marc COMA – KTM
I didn't want to take too many risks today. I am not worried because the rally is still long and there are a lot of kilometres and difficulties to come.

Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER - KTM
On these mountainous pistes, unlike the Spanish, Portuguese or others, I'm not so fast because I lack the experience. Despite that, it was good training because the Dakar is more and more like that. A part from that, I lost 4 or 5 minutes through navigation errors.

Rallye de Tunisie: Coma and Terranova take command...

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:08:00 +0200

The sun shone on the second stage taking the competitors from Tunis to Oued Mellah…

The 60 km of special stage posed few problems, just the occasional close encounters with some cactus for a few and a problematic deviation for the lead riders. Finally, in the bike class Marc Coma took the victory ahead of David Casteu and Francisco 'Chaleco' Lopez. In the cars the BMWs chased each other. After Guerlain Chicherit yesterday it was the turn of Orlando Terranova to win the special ahead of Leonid Novitskiy in the 3rd BMW X3. Nicolas Misslin takes the third place in his Mitsubishi MPR13, 10 seconds ahead of Christian Lavieille in his Proto Dessoude.

A special stage of 60 kilometres, technical, twisty and slippery through the cactus and the puddles – today's programme on the 27th Rallye OiLibya de Tunisie. A detour put in place by the organisers, so as to avoid a field, caused a few problems, with certain losing precious minutes, though of course the race has only just begun…

In the bike class Marc Coma remains calm in the knowledge that only a few kilometres have so far been raced. Taking the lead today is no guarantee of victory in 8 days time… In the 450 class Olivier Pain also got a little lost, while Luca Manca pulled off the exploit of the day. The tough Italian takes the class lead and finishes 4th on the special. Christian Califano got a ton of dust in his eyes which bothered him for much of the day. Virginie Premat, the only lady rider on two wheels, crossed the line with several bits of cactus artistically stuck to her helmet.

On the quads Lionel Laine increases his overall lead over Karim Dilou while the Russian Vladimir Marugov and the Italian Camelia Liparoti are neck and neck after Camelia got lost on the going.

Quotes of the day…

Marc COMA – KTM – 1ST
A nice first special. Tomorrow I think it will start to get a little tougher. We are only at the start of the race.

David CASTEU – KTM – 2nd
Nice to be back on a track, 'cos since Dakar I haven't raced at all. As always it takes a little time to get back into the road book, but everything went fine.

Luca MANCA – 1st 450 cc – 4th
A good first day on the piste. I am very happy because the bike worked perfectly. My goal on this rally is to win the 450 class and why not get on to the overall podium.

Cyril DESPRES – KTM
Not a great day. During the special a policeman sent me the wrong way and I lost a lot of time - something which doesn't make me exactly happy.

Alessandro DE PETRI – KTM
What a pleasure to be back on an African piste. My old bones are arching a little, but apart from that I feel great.

Coma to Despres: Catch me if U can

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:58:00 +0100

Spain's Marc Coma regained the overall lead in the motorcycle category of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2009, as surviving crews completed the fourth Hertz loop stage through the emirate's Empty Quarter to the south and east of Humeem, on Thursday.

Coma caught his great French rival Cyril Despres in the desert and the pair raced together to the finish of the penultimate stage of the UAE's premier off-road event, which is benefiting from title sponsorship from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).

The result sets up the prospect of a 'winner-takes-all' showdown between the world's top two cross-country riders in Friday's final off-road section back to Abu Dhabi.

Despres will start Friday's final stage two minutes behind his rival and will need to catch the Spaniard and close to within nine seconds at the end of the special to win the event for a record-breaking fifth time.

"It was not easy at all today. The wind was strong and the visibility was difficult for all the riders. It was a case of finding a safe pace. Tomorrow is a big day. It will decide the rally. All I can do is ride my best. If he catches me (Despres) he wins. I will try to make sure that he doesn't catch me!" said Coma.

Local quad entrant Obaid Echtibi and South African rider Sean Gaugain were the stars of the day, with Echtibi winning the stage outright on his quad and Gaugain recording second position on his Honda CRF 450 X.

When told that he had won the stage at the arrival into the Tal Mureeb bivouac, a surprised Obaid asked: "Really? I won? Fantastic! I cannot believe that!

"It was a nice stage, a little more open than the last two days. I started as the second quad and I managed to catch Sébastien (Husseini) and I passed him after the service and pushed on to the finish."

The UAE's Mohammed Husseini finished the day in fourth and continues to lead the quad category.
Despres and Coma continued their battle of cat and mouse through the fourth Hertz stage, which featured passage controls (PC) at the 78km, 109km, 154km and 243km points and headed through the region of Abu Dhabi's Empty Quarter to the south and east of Humeem.

Coma had gained 1m 31s on his rival through PC1 and extended his lead to 1m 47s through PC2, although South Africa's Sean Gaugain was the man in form on the day's stage. He headed Ullesvalseter by 17 seconds through 109km.

Australia's Youcef Cummings was unable to restart after it emerged that he had aggravated an old collarbone injury during the third stage on Wednesday

South Africa's Mark Ackerman began to turn up his pace through the middle of the stage and he and stage leader Gaugain were the form riders into the third checkpoint. Coma continued to shadow Despres through the sandy wastelands and his virtual stage lead over the Frenchman rose to 1m 54s. Echtibi and Husseini benefited from the tactics of the leading duo and they surged through the closing kilometres to record the first and fourth fastest times on the day's stage.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the final day of this year's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and surviving teams will tackle one 275.93km selective section in a total route of 419.37km, according to event chairman Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA Vice-President for Sport and President of the Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE).

The single competitive section replaces the two shorter tests that have been used in previous years and the action finishes 60.44km from rally headquarters. Teams will then take a road liaison section to the ADIMSC in Abu Dhabi, where the ceremonial finish is scheduled for 4pm.

The Desert Challenge has the backing of key players, including the event's title sponsor, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), Nissan, ADNOC, Beach Rotana - Abu Dhabi, etisalat, Explorer, Hertz, Lambda Electronics, Oasis Water, TAG Heuer and the ADIMSC.

Leading positions on Leg 4 – Hertz special (unofficial @ 14.25hrs):

1. Obaid Echtibi (UAE) Honda TRX - 4h 19m 34s*
2. Sean Gaugain (ZA) Honda CRF 450X - 4h 19m 53s
3. Jakub Przygonski (PL) KTM 690 R - 4h 20m 17s
4. Sébastien Husseini (UAE) KTM 525 XC - 4h 21m 33s*
5. Mark Ackerman (ZA) KTM 450 - 4h 23m 06s
6. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (N) KTM 690 R - 4h 23m 57s
7. Dave McBride (GB) Honda CRF 450 X - 4h 25m 01s
8. Marc Coma (E) KTM 690 R - 4h 25m 48s
9. Cyril Despres (F) KTM 690 R - 4h 28m 00s
* denotes quad

Overall positions after Leg 4 (unofficial @ 14.25hrs):

1. Marc Coma (E) KTM 690 R - 16h 36m 23s
2. Cyril Despres (F) KTM 690 R - 16h 38m 13s
3. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (N) KTM 690 R - 16h 45m 58s
4. Sean Gaugain (ZA) Honda CRF 450X - 16h 58m 14s
5. Jakub Przygonski (PL) KTM 690 R - 17h 07m 36s
6. Mark Ackerman (ZA) KTM 450 - 17h 09m 32s
7. Dave McBride (GB) Honda CRF 450 X - 17h 12m 15s

Coma passes Despres to snatch lead

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:53:00 +0100

TAL MUREEB, ABU DHABI (UAE): BMW X-raid's Guerlain Chicherit and Spaniard Marc Coma controlled proceedings at the end of a punishing 296.75-km desert loop stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, around the Tal Mureeb bivouac in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.

Coma sped past four-time champion Cyril Despres to hold an unofficial lead of 1m 25s in the motorcycle section at the end of the second of five legs of this opening round of both the 2009 FIM Cross-Country World Championship and FIA World Cup.

"Today was the first day in the big dunes and the real desert," said Coma. "I am glad to be here with no real problems and we can see tomorrow where we lie and what we will do."

The revelation of the day was South African rider Sean Gaugain who won the stage outright and now leads the 450cc class moved up from eighth to fourth overall.

He was delighted with his maiden stage win at this level: "I did not expect to win today and I will enjoy the moment. I pushed hard at the start and relaxed a little in the middle and had a couple of small crashes. But it was not easy and I am now looking forward to leading the way into the next stage."

The UAE's Obaid Echtibi topped the quad section on the day, but British rider James West crashed out of the stage lead after the first checkpoint and sustained a fractured right femur.

The treacherous soft sand and high temperatures played havoc with entrants lower down the field and numerous drivers and riders lost time in the sand bowls, while negotiating the notorious dunes.

Low-lying fog was prevalent at the start of the second loop stage and the action was delayed for 75 minutes on safety grounds. Despres planned to push from the outset to try and extend his overall lead over Coma, but it is never easy to extend an advantage from the front and the Spaniard was 1m 39s quicker than his French rival at the first passage control (PC) to take a virtual overall lead.

West and Gaugain were the early front-runners, as the stage meandered through the treacherous sand dunes and along the narrow, winding Bedouin trails that make the loop stages of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge so demanding.

But West fell shortly after the opening PC and broke his right leg. Despres duly reduced Coma's virtual stage lead to 1m 20s, although Gaugain was the fastest rider on the stage through the third checkpoint at 160 kms and maintained a sensational pace through the closing kilometres to record a memorable stage win.

A medical update on quad rider Mohammed Al Shamsi revealed that the UAE rider sustained four broken vertebrae and a fractured rib in Monday's fall, although there is no neurological damage and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The 2009 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has the backing of key players, including the event's title sponsor, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), Nissan, ADNOC, Beach Rotana - Abu Dhabi, etisalat, Explorer, Hertz, Lambda Electronics, Oasis Water, TAG Heuer and the ADIMSC.

Leg 2 Top-5
1. Sean Gaugain (ZA) Honda CRF 450X - 4h 24m 24s
2. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (N) KTM 690 R - 4h 28m 53s
3. Jakub Przygonski (PL) KTM 690 R - 4h 30m 29s
4. Marc Coma (E) KTM 690 R - 4h 30m 36s
5. Cyril Despres (F) KTM 690 R - 4h 32m 34s

Overall Top-5 After Leg 2
1. Marc Coma (E) KTM 690 R - 7h 26m 12s
2. Cyril Despres (F) KTM 690 R - 7h 27m 37s
3. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (N) KTM 690 R - 7h 30m 29s
4. Sean Gaugain (ZA) Honda CRF 450X - 7h 42m 42s
5. Dave McBride (GB) Honda CRF 450 X - 7h 45m 42s
6. Jakub Przygonski (PL) KTM 690 R - 7h 47m 40s