Riders were either greeted with shock or pleasant surprise this morning at the 2010 Dakar Rally when officials announced that they’d awarded time bonuses to those who were thrown off course yesterday in stage 11 by a local policeman’s error in setting markers. The resulting changes took the stage victory away from BMW’s Frans Verhoeven and moved Marc Coma and David Fretigne into first and second respectively. More importantly it heightened the battle for the runner-up position by placing Francisco Lopez Contardo and Pal Anders Ullevalseter in a dead tie for second overall.
And it was Lopez who capitalized on the situation today in stage 12. The Chilean rode his Aprilia RXV 4.5 to his third stage victory this rally, putting him alone in second overall, just over a minute ahead of Ullevalseter. Cyril Depres’ saw his lead somewhat diminished today, finishing in 8th, but with only two stages to go, he still sits atop the leader board with a healthy 46 minute advantage.
Canadian Patrick Trahan completed another day in his campaign for a finisher’s medal and moved up into 56th overall.
Check out the video below for more details and to see how quick the frontrunners are.
2010 Dakar Rally Stage 12 Results
1. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 03:48:34
2. FRETIGNE (FRA) YAMAHA 03:49:14 00:00:40
3. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 03:49:47 00:01:13
4. COMA (ESP) KTM 03:51:42 00:03:08
5. RODRIGUES (PRT) YAMAHA 03:55:33 00:06:59
6. PRZYGONSKI (POL) KTM 03:59:39 00:11:05
7. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 04:04:32 00:15:58
8. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 04:05:46 00:17:12
9. PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) KTM 04:06:37 00:18:03
10. STREET (USA) KTM 04:07:14 00:18:40
2010 Dakar Rally Overall Standings
1. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 46:10:56
2. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 47:14:38 01:03:42
3. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 47:15:51 01:04:55
4. RODRIGUES (PRT) YAMAHA 47:24:12 01:13:16
5. FRETIGNE (FRA) YAMAHA 47:51:08 01:40:12
6. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 48:04:21 01:53:25
7. STREET (USA) KTM 48:48:19 02:37:23
8. PRZYGONSKI (POL) KTM 49:17:07 03:06:11
9. PAIN (FRA) YAMAHA 49:23:46 03:12:50
10. PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) KTM 49:24:31 03:13:35
