And We’re Off!
Both Philip and Gary took off on the 31st Edition of the Dakar Rally 2009 from Buenos Aires this morning. Philip’s race number is 229 and Gary’s is 206. If you’re interested in tracking their progress every day visit http://tracking.dakar.com/ASO/index_us.htm, go to the Bike section and then enter their race numbers on the right hand side and you will be able to see their times and stages. Both of them have now finished Stage 1 of the race without a hitch, a stage which ran from Buenos Aires to Santa Rose and was a distance of 733km. Marc Coma from Spain gave a masterful showing for this first special stage, he is already the main favourite for overall victory. Commenting on today’s stage he said “The problem with this special was the distance. I paced myself cautiously, waiting for the moment, on an unusual stage. On this route, there was little work to do with the bike, so I tried to ride my race to avoid problems. What has happened to the others could also happen to me. I saw Despres had problems with his back wheel after filling up at CP2. After that, I tried to open the gap…”. Frenchman Cyril Despres, also riding a KTM finished 22nd in this first special, more than 40 minutes behind the winner and did not make a navigational error as previously reported but rather suffered a flat tyre and finished the special on his wheel rims!! So, hopefully the lads will get some rest tonight, some badly needed grub and be fighting fit for tomorrow’s second stage from Santa Rosa to Puerto Madryn…….we’ll keep you posted. For all media enquiries please call Fiona on 087.2808828 or email us at info@teamdakarireland.com
