All-terrain – Another victory for Despres and KTM at the Rallye du Maroc! –

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Another victory for Despres and KTM at the Rallye du Maroc !

All-terrain - Another victory for Despres and KTM at the Rallye du Maroc! -

Cyril Despres won a fourth time in Morocco riding his factory KTM 450. His best enemy – Marc Coma, who else? – injured, the French rider wins this 2012 edition ahead of Joan Barreda on Husqvarna.

Cyril Despres won a fourth time in Morocco riding his factory KTM 450. His best enemy – Marc Coma, who else? – injured, the French rider wins this 2012 edition ahead of Joan Barreda on Husqvarna.

The business had started very well for Honda: the had managed to impose itself on its very first outing! Even stronger: CRF n ° 3 had an 11-minute lead over Despres’ KTM at the end of the third day.

The next day, unfortunately, an engine failure brought their top pilot to a halt. Rodriguez will finally finish in a distant 41st place … The first CRF occupies the 7th position of the final classification, but don’t get me wrong: in the next Dakar, the Reds will aim much higher !

Marc Coma (KTM) was also unlucky … Although, his dislocated shoulder following his fall in day three will not prevent him from defending his own chances in South America in January. For Morocco, on the other hand, the damage was done.

Rodrigues and Coma out of the race, there was still a serious customer in Despres’ wheels: Joan Barreda! Winner of the Pharaohs rally this summer, the Husqvarna driver also won the fifth stage with more than 12 minutes ahead of the official KTM.

"This morning, when I left, I got the wrong glasses", Cyril explained! "So I couldn’t see well. I made a lot of mistakes in not seeing the terrain well. I fell 5 times. You always have to find the right mix between attack and navigation. On the bike, we play the jackpot a little every day "…

The French n ° 2 therefore had "only" 5 minutes ahead of the Spanish n ° 8 at the time of setting out for the sixth and final stage. Won by Rodrigues – him again ?! -, this step finally allowed Despres to consolidate his lead overall.

Cyril therefore won a fourth time in Morocco, ahead of Joan Barreda and Francesco Lopez (KTM). Frans Verhoeven posts the first Yamaha in fourth place ahead of the Husqvarna de Goncalves. The new Sherco 450 ranks 45th.

Final classification of Rally Oylibya du Maroc 2012:

Pilots’ statements

1st – Cyril Despres (Fra / KTM 450 n ° 2): "It was a rally with ups and downs, I learned that this is the 4th time that I won it and I am particularly satisfied because it is about a rally in its own right. Of course, two months before the Dakar, preparation is essential, especially in terms of navigation where Morocco leaves no room for error ".

2nd – Joan Barreda (Esp / Husqvarna 450 n ° 8): "The whole Husqvarna SpeedBrain team has done an extraordinary job and I am very satisfied with this 2nd place in a particularly demanding Morocco OiLibya Rally. The fact that all the main teams taking part in the Dakar were present gives even more depth to our service ".

3rd – Francesco Lopez (Chi / KTM 450 n ° 7): "In the end, this third place is an excellent performance for me for the Dakar. It was a very complicated rally and very demanding in terms of navigation. I can say today that I’m ready for a big performance, in a few weeks, at my home in Chile! "

17th – David Fretigne (Fra / Yamaha 450 n ° 12): "It was the perfect race to regain sensations after long months of inactivity. Our new motorcycle is in full evolution and shows promising developments. With two broken ribs, I had to observing a more careful pace but it allowed me to concentrate on navigation, which has never been my strong point and which is particularly difficult here in Morocco ".

41st – Helder Rodrigues (PRT / Honda 450 n ° 3): "The results of the rally are positive. We won the first stage, we were leading the general classification when I suffered from a technical problem: my race was over in terms of final result, but it’s the competition. We must not forget that we were there above all to break in the machine. The level of the bike is very good and I look forward to the next Dakar in the company of Honda HRC ".

45th – Alain Duclos (Fra / Sherco 450 n ° 21): "It was a very rich week for me and the whole team as part of the development of this new bike. Of course, we still have a little way to go, but for a such a modest structure we have done an excellent job, full of promise for the future "…

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