The Dakar rally is one of the toughest dirt bike competitions in the world. Recently, riders took a much needed R&R from the grueling race in order to prepare for the much more difficult second half of the competition.
The Dakar rally has already entered its halfway mark as the remaining riders in the competition took a much-needed R & R from the grueling race on Sunday. It looks like are in control of this race in most of the early event so far. The riders are in a level all their own with a 50 minute advantage from the rest of the competitors. The only other rider that was able to win an event has been Aprilia’s Francisco Lopez. However, the Chilean suffered an injury in the form of a sprained knee during Stage 7, which forced him to leave the Dakar rally.
According to Lopez himself, he was leaving the competition because he could not put his leg on the ground due to the pain. He is expected to recuperate in two to three weeks. He profusely thanked Aprilia for providing him with an excellent dirt bike and all his fans for the support they gave him on this rally.
There are about left in the competition. However, many are expected to bow out of the race especially in the grueling second half. The Dakar challenge is one of the most difficult in dirt biking as riders on average need daily tire replacements, new brake sets and consume more than a hundred gallons of fuel.
American riders seemed to have the toughest time in the competition after mechanical and injury woes forced Jonah Street and Quinn Cody to bow out in the early junctures of the race. It is pretty clear that the title might stay within the riders that have left an indelible mark in this competition for the six past years.
The final outcome is still up for grabs between the top contenders as Coma is basically just eight minutes behind leader Despres. However, the Frenchman still has his work cut out for him because the most grueling parts of the race would be taking place in the coming week. This includes the punishing two thousand five hundred kilometers as well as the marathon section sans any pit stops. Safe to say, the winner is still anybody’s guess.
Other top riders that have bowed out include Alain Duclos and Frans Verhoeven. Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues seems to be the only other rider in the that seems to thrive in the midst of difficulties as he is currently in third place behind Coma. Rodrigues was able to finish third overall last year behind the two frontrunners and has shown that he has the will and endurance to keep in stride with them.