Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Despres Holds On to Win Dakar Rally B~;efly... Cyril De..... auloises KTM's Cyril Despres finished 16th in the final stage of the Telef6nica Dakar Rally, the Frenchman cruising to his first-ever overall victory in the grueling off- G road race. And it was an American out front on the final day, as Kellon Walch bookended his fifth-place finish in stage one with a victory in stage 16 to earn 22nd overall. Although his Red Bull KTM teammate Chris Blais didn't earn a stage win, the Californian was more consistent through- out the rally and that consistency brought him a top-10 finish in his first try at the event, Blais ended up eighth today and eighth overall. His team manager Scot Harden was 26th today and 17th overall. The road to victory for Despres started early. with his runner-up finish In the opening stage. He followed that up with the following stage results: third, third, fourth, third, seventh, first, second, 77th, first and 16th. "I am very happy to have won," Despres said in a KTM press release. "But I believe I won't cope with what I have accomplished for yet another few weeks. At the moment, I'm just relieved and satisfied that i could keep my promise, which Fabrizio [Meoni] and I had given each other during the test runs in Tunisia. We wanted a 'blue' rider to stand on top of the podium in Dakar. We wanted to do this for Richard [Sainct]. Now that I have managed it, the victory is also dedicated to Fabrizio [who was killed in the just completed rally]." Second-place overall went to Marc Coma. in his second attempt at the Dakar. Coma ended up 9 minutes and 17 seconds behind Despres. The battle for third went all the way to the finish line, with Alfie Cox holding off his teammate Isidre Esteve by just 22 seconds. After finishing third, however, Cox is contemplating retiring from rally competition. "Most probably I'm going to stop racing rallies," Cox said. "I'll need to think about it during the next few weeks, and I'll need to taik to my family about it. I like my bike and I perform great on it, but a lot of things have happened during the previous months." Fifth place went to the lone non-KTM man in the top 10, Yamaha's David Fretigne. Fretigne rode his WR450 to three stage wins en route to his fifth-place overall finish. "One thing is for sure: I'll have a lot of memories on the Dakar 200S," Fretigne said in a Yamaha press release. "My three stage wins and a new victory in the 450 class. The WR450F doesn't cease to amaze me; it's simply the most reliable and most pleasant bike I have ever raced. Overall, I'm very satisfied. My goal was to finish between the third and fifth position of the overall standings, and I'm fifth. If the officials gave me back the time I lost when I stayed with Fabrizio [Meoni] waiting for the doctors, I would have been third - but it doesn't really matter. The most important thing www.amerciansupercamp.com. for me is to know that one day I can win the Dakar and that I'm a real contender among the best riders. Now, I'm looking forward to a small celebration of our fifth place, and then I'll take two weeks off. My program for the rest of the year includes the Enduro World Championship and preparation for the Dakar next year. It's very good for me to be sure that I can come back here next year to battle with the best rally raid riders in the world." Although Walch's rally ended and started on high notes, the I Ith stage of the rally is Chris Blais was the top-finishing American. top-10 finish. Walch had problems in stage I I and ended up 100th on the day, but he have worked very hard here and we have learned a lot. Therefore, I like to claim that we have accomplished the first part of our three-year plan. Next year, we'll ride for a place on the podium. We'll come back here!" All victory celebrations on the podium will no doubt remember his rookie Dakar were cancelled - no champagne, no cheers, what killed the American's chances for a by his 16th-stage win. Overall, the debut of the American factory riders Blais and Walch was very promising, and the young rookies from the United States would like to return. "It is the toughest race that I have ever participated in," Walch said. "But I've got to admit that I also had a lot of fun. I had no problems concerning my physical condition and navigation got easier with every new stage. But most important of all is that all three of us have reached Dakar. Everything went very well for us." Harden added, "To reach Dakar was our most important goal. Chris and Kellon were further able to rank in excellent positions. We Danny Walker's American Supercamp has announced its upcoming schools. The first of those is the DuQuion, Illinois, school that will feature Chris Carr and Mike Hacker as guest instructors. That school is scheduled for january 27-2B (racer camp) and january 30-31 (combined camp - racer and nonracer). The rest of the schools are as follows: Santa Rosa, California (guest instructor Eric Bostrom), February 11-12; San Bernardino/Colton, California, March I 1-12, 13-14 and IS-16; Greenville, Kentucky (guest instructor johnny Murphree), March 24-25 and 27-28; Harrington, Delaware (guest instructor Chris Carr), April 19-20; Renton, Washington, May 6-7 and 8-9; Springfield, Illinois (guest instructors Chris Carr and johnny Murphree), May 27-28 and 29-30; and Santa Rosa, California, June 1718 and 19-20. For more information, visit as it was a time of remembrance of Richard Sainee and Fabrizio Meoni. "January II th was a black day," Despres said. "It had hurt so much to lose Fabrizio. Afterwards, my head was empty. First we lost Richard, then Fabrizio. It will take a long time until we comprehend all of this. Nevertheless, I believe it was the right decision to continue the rally. I love racing, just as Fabrizio did. He, too, got back on a motorbike after Richard's accident. My motorcycle was exactly the place to find myself again." Of the 230 motorcycles that left Barcelona more than two weeks ago, 104 of them reached Dakar. Carl Fogarty has recruited Jack Valentine as the new race team manager of his Foggy Petronas team. Valentine was responsible for a succession of British Championship and Isle of Man TT successes with the V&M Racing team, and for the last two years he worked with Triumph in its return to racing with his own VaiMoto team in the British Supersport Championship. Valentine's relationship with Fogarty dates back to 1992, when the seven-time World Champion rode for Valentine's team in the 400cc Supersport Isle of Man TT. Valentine takes over the responsibilities performed last season by chief engineer Steve Thompson, who continues in a technical consultancy role in the World Superbike project. "I'm really pleased to have Jack on board," Fogarty said. "I have been looking to change things around for the new season and have been looking for a figurehead team manager, as we did not have anyone in that specific role last year and we needed to balance things up. I have known jack for 15 years, and wherever he has been, he has done a good job. His teams have always been professionally run, and I am certain that he will bring experience and fresh ideas to my team." Patriot Motorcycles Corporation says that it has proven that there is a market in America for the Chinese-manufactured Yamoto off-road products. On November 2 of last year, Patriot Motorcycles took over distribution and operations for Yamoto Motor Corporation, and in the first 60 days, Patriot Motorcycles delivered over 1750 units, with an average wholesale dealer price of $950 each, according to Patriot. Air Force Goes Big Air Motocross allows us to broaden Air Force Clear Channel Entertainment's Motor Sports career opportunities. awareness with motor sports fans across the division announced that the United States Air "We are thrilled to announce the U.S. Air Force sponsorship," said Scott Mendel, country," said Brig. Gen. Dutch Remkes, Former Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) chaplain Steve Hudson will be returning as chaplain to AMA Supercross and motocross events in 2005 under a new ministry SXMX Ministry, Inc. MRO is asking all who commander of Air Force Recruiting Service at participate in 5upercross and motocross "to Force will sponsor the IFMA Freestyle Motocross Series and select USHRA Monster Jam events in 2005. The agreement provides national sales director, Clear Channel Entertainment - Motor Sports. "Not only are Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "It provides an opportunity for fans who share the excite- presence at the live events. Additionally, local they a great fit to our high-flying events, but our events offer a great forum for the U.S. Air recruiting squadrons will be stationed at high- Force to reach young men and women." unite as a community behind SXMX Ministry and provide Hudgson their full support both financially and prayerfully." For more information, contact MRO at 704/455-3B28. team of Air Force men and women who the U.S. Air Force with prominent on-site ly visible locations to promote U.S. Air Force "The Air Force's relationship with ment of motocross to learn about the diverse serve their nation." Continued on page 9 CYCLE NEWS • JANUARY 26, 2005 7