Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127978
of the riders were very late into the camp, and I think the organizers have done a good thing," smiled the leader. Magnaldi, one of the toughest riders in the rally, was not so sure. "They have to be careful," Magnaldi said. "TIus rally is meant to be difficult. Maybe the day should have gone ahead." Cox took his first stage win of the Dakar on day nine, while Sainct scored a second place, increasing his lead over Magnaldi. "The stage was just like what we rid~ back home: lots of thorn bushes, twists and turns," said stage winnelCox. "1 was passing guys like they were standing still." Luckily for the now-exhausted riders, the 10th stage was called off. With riders arriving late from stage nine and many lost, the organizers decided to put the motorcycle riders on planes and send them to the start of stage 11. For Cox, the day's rest worked wonders, as he produced his second stage win in stage 11. Sainct was fifth, but his lead did not appear to be in any real jeopardy, although the dangers of the Dakar were, of course, always there. "This is the best day of my life," Cox said. "I started first and was never headed." Sainct, however, was not smiling at all after a crash and lost time caused him to finish the stage far behind. The leader also lost nearly five minutes to second-placed Magnaldi. ''It was not a big crash, but big enough to stall the bike," Sainct said. "It took me a while to start it again, and I think I lost about five minutes." With three day remaining and Sainct's lead now less than five minutes, many in attendance were wondering if the BMW could hold out for the last three long stages. Stage 13 was good for Magnaldi who, with a win, moved closer to Sainct. The Frenchman, however, still held on to his lead, pulling further away from his other rivals. With just two hours and 53 seconds separating Sainct from Magnaldi, the race'was far from over. At this point, Magnaldi was not sure what to expect. "We all rode flat out today, although 1 never really saw Sainct too much," Magnaldi said. "It was like a duel at a distance." Spain's Jordi Arcar ns, a longtime Dakar competitor, moved into third overall. Another notable, Finland's Karl Tiainen, wa forced to drop out when his bike exploded into a ball of flames. The day would also see an armed gang hold up 50 of the competitors, including the Dakar organizer . The last three days pretty much sewed it all up for Sainct, as race rivals fell by the wayside, including Magnaldi, who crashed and injured himself. "Sixty kilometers from the end of the stage, I crashed," Magnaldi said. "I hit some rocks and hurt my side; then I made some mistakes. [ think I can only win now if his engine blows." With the pressure now off, Sainct was not afraid to step it up, and he won stage 15, and with tage 16 canceled, the French rider scored the win. "For BMW, I am happy," Saind said. "They took me and we won. What more can we do? It's a shame Peterhansel was not here; he could have really made things more interesting." eN Granada-Dakar Rally Dakar, Senegal Results: January 17, 1999 O/A: 1: Richard g.,inct (BMW); 2. Thierry Magnaldi (KTM); 3. Alfie Cox (KTM); 4. Jordi Arcarons (KTM); 5. Carlos Sotelo (Yam); 6. John Deacon (KTM); 7. Giovanni Sala (KTM); 8. Carlo De Ca\'ardo (KTM); 9 O..car Gallardo (BMW); 10. Fabrizio Meoni (KTMl. Anaheim 5upercross ·February 6, 1999 Buy your Supercross Tickets from These Participating Yamaha Dealers and receive your free early-entry pit pass. Plus enter to win the 1999 Toyota/YZ Giveaway. 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