Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(left) Danny laPorte was knocked out of the event early on when he crashed and injured his shoulder. (Above) lewis (left) and laPorte (right). day and had spent a fruitless nigh t working on his machine. Another day and this time it was Lewis who took the bull by the horns with his first-ever stage win. "I took it rather easy, but to win a stage is great," said Lewis, who was riding a stock machine and was sure his KTM 620 LCE was good enough. '1t was a lot of fun out there. I really didn't think I was going that fast today, I even stopped to go to the bathroom early on. The stage was really rough, but it's no worse than that at home, so I found it pretty easy. I was surprised at how slow the other guys were going and when I got to the front, I was a bit cautious because there were no tracks to follow and I had to make sure my navigation was good. I think the KTM had an advantage today because the more powerful bikes weren't able to use their top speeds." Lewis started carefull y, trying to keep out of the dust of the other riders for the first 93 miles until the route went off track into the sand and camel grass. There, he quickly caught the leading riders and passed them, only to be repassed when the route became faster again. On the second visit to the rough, technical terrain, Lewis was again able to get past and went clear to score his maiden stage victory in only his second Dakar ride. "It's a dream to win a stage," Lewis said. "I think I can now hang on to my fourth place, but I can't afford to relax." While Lewis was not having too much trouble, Peterhansel also was continuing on his merry way. "Lewis .passed me and I just let him go," Peterhansel said. "It was dangerous with all the long grass. At stages I was doing over 60 mph, so I'd back off and let those others pass me." No doubt Peterhanset's early lead gave him no need to walk the tightrope. England's John Deacon was having his problems and, like Peterhansel last year, he was given bad fuel. "They gave me helicopter fuel," Deacon complained. '1t took about an hour to clean the tank. I was lucky another rider spotted it, otherwise I would not have noticed." ill fact, several riders were given the fuel and all would regain the time they lost after organizers decided to allow the time lost to be taken out of their stage time. Deacon finished a respectable 15th in this stage and looked to be turning up the wick. (Right) Second-place finisher Jordl Arcons (left) and Thierry Magnaldl (right) were favored to finish among the top five but neither of them made It to the finish. Arcons was running second In the late stages when he ran Into a dog and crashed out of the event. Magnaldl blew two motors. Further back, the fighting Irishman Ian Graham on a KTM, CCM rider Adrian Lappin and Honda"mounted Richard Fair continued on. With Peterhansel's lead over Arcarons being more than one 'and a half hours, it came as a major blow to KTM when Arcarons, crashed after hitting a dog. The Spaniard was knocked unconscious. "I remember something running out in front of me, then. I remember nothing," he said. With Arcarons out, Peterhansel took his seventh stage win of the rally and took his lead to two and a half hours over new second-place rider Oscar Gallardo. ISDE veteran Deacon was up to 17th and third in the experiment class. With the stages now taking the riders into the thick, flowing sand, it was a little surprising that World Enduro rider Eric Bernard took out stage number 13. With Peterhansel in a very-ordinary seventh place, it now looked like the Yamaha rider had toned it down for the run to Dakar. "I crashed on one of the dunes," Peterhansel said. "It was a simple crash, but stilt I did not want to end with a broken wrist, so I took it slowly." The same could not be said of Deacon, who claimed 13th in the stage and was just warming up. He did have some trouble, though. "I got caught up in a soft dune and sunk my bike down to the headlight," the top Englishman said. Lappin, in the meantime, was having his own troubles. His CCM started after a long period of working on it and, with only two days to go, the friendly Irish- man looked likely to struggle to get to Dakar. Richard Fair also was having difficulties. His Honda had not appeared at the camping spot. Finally, word came through that the clutch on his bike had expired, a sad end to a gallant effort with one day to go, he too was out. If Bernard's win was a shocker, then the following stage was even more so. Paulo Manuel Marques, a Lisbon businessman, gave KTM some reasons to smile as he led home fellow KTM rider Jean Bruch and Cagiva-mounted Carlos Soleto. Peterhansel's sixth place kept his lead over Gallardo at 2:36.50. In third, Castera, who was now shadowing every move by Peterhansel, was a further 20 minutes back. Deacon managed to move to 16th overall, despite not claiming a top-20 place on the 14th stage, while Graham continued to impress in 28th place. Lappin, like his fellow CCM teammates, ended his rally with his machine coming to a halt on one of the long road sections. He had worked on the bike a complete night only to get one hour's sleep. With only one stage left, it was pure robbery that he did not make it. The final day was, as expected, an 11mile run to Dakar along the oceanfront. For Deacon, the final run to DaKar brought his best result as he claimed fourth in the stage, al though it could have been much more. "I had a huge lead over the others, but they told me it was 11 miles and I'd ridden 17 and figured, 'Where was the finish?' In the end, fourth was okay. I really wanted to wID the last stage." The KTM riders finally entered the record books as the best-placed Briti~h riders in Dakar history. Deacon will now set his attention on getting some support for the Nevada Rally in August. For Ian Graham, the final day also gave him a sweet taste wi th his best result of the rally - 17th; his tinal position was 29th. As for Peterhansel, he trailed into 15th on the last 11-mile leg and, with a huge crowd around him, was lifh~d into the air. "To win five times is nearly unbelievable," Peterhansel said. "Thanks to Yamaha for supplying me with a winning machine. It was a tough Dakar, very hot and a lot of problems for riders. "Now I must continue my year with a win in the Gilles Lalay Classic and the Le Touquet race. With those victories I can be a happy man." In second place, Spanish rider Gallardo, an average enduro specialist, said it was "a dream. To finish second to Peterhansel is nearly as good as a win." Third-placed David Castera, who just happened to be a teammate (and shadow) of Peterhansel throughout the rally, also was giving hisieam leader his due: "Nobody could've beaten him this year," he said. "He is a legend. Maybe one day it will be my turn." What of Lewis? The now-bearded Californian was just happy to see the ocean. "Now that's a bit more like home," he declared. "I would have liked to finish third, but fourth is great. Man, I'm happy to be in Dakar." He will, no doubt, be back. "I only knew about the deal with KTM a month before the ralty," Lewis said. "Danny (LaPorte) called and asked me if I'd like to compete. This year is another of experience. I hope to come back, for sure." As the sun settled on the African town of Dakar, most of the riders including Lewis, Deacon and Gallardo enjoyed the official festivities. As for Peterhansel, his challenges await him number six is a fingertip away. "I wilt no doubt go for six wins in 1998:' he said. "It's never enough to win the same as anyone else." f'N Dakar Rally Dakar, Africa Results: January 19, 1997 O/A: 1. Stephane PeterhanseJ (Yam); 2. Oscar Callardo (Cag); 3. David Castera (Yam); 4. Jimmy Lewis (KTM); S. Von Z;lzewH (KTM); 6. Mayer (KTM); 17. Jean Brucy (KTM); 8. Paulo Marques (KTM); 9. Schilcher (KTM); 10. Eric Bernard (KTM); 11. Carlos Sotelo (Cag); 12. Gil (KTM); 13. Sirey Jol (Hon); 14. De Azevedo . (KTM); 15. De Azevedo (KTM); 16. Yoshio (Han); 17. John Deacon (KTM); 18. Meillat (KTM); 19. Hutten (KTM); 20. Ramos Marl (KTM). 25

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