Declarations
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Cyril Despres (FRA – KTM – 4th)
“ It was a better day for me today. It was a stage with a lot of navigation to do, what’s ever pleasant when you find the good way. I lost myself a couple of times but nothing serious. Then I take the lead, and had to open the way for the others, so I had to slow down the pace. We made some little modifications on the speed alarm, which works a little better. We feel like in a TV game, because it keeps ringing. Anyway, it was a good day. The three first stages were a little bit difficult, because each competitor had to understand the new rules and find his own set up, but now the real race has started.â€
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Isisdre Esteve Pujol (ESP – KTM – 1st)
« It has been a good day. Things are going on quite well since the beginning of the rally I, spite of the dust which makes every overtaking very difficult. Once again, there was a lot of dust and I had to get off the track a couple of times to overtake. But after having passed Frétigné et Ullevalseter, I have been able to ride at a good pace until the end of the stage. And with this new bike, riding is always a real pleasure. Tomorrow, I will open the track. I guess it is going to very pleasant not to have many riders ahead of me, but it will surely be quite difficult to win the stage. Yet, if we want to win the race, we will have to find a way resist to the riders chasing behind on every stage. Actually, it is still a long way to Dakar and we have more than time to think about this. Actually, the real good satisfaction so far is the great atmosphere in our team.â€
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David Casteu (FRA – KTM - 5th)
"I started up the stage at the 17th position, it was so dusty that the first kilometers were really dangerous. After the refueling point, I overcame David (Frétigné) and Giovanni (Sala) in a shot. I spent all day long alone, doing navigation on my own with the road-book. Africa is our team’s playground : Isidre, Cyril and myself are former trial riders, we like extreme courses. As for me, reaching the Top 5 is some fabulous. When I was a child, I was amazed by the Dakar on television."
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Carlo de Gavardo (CHI – KTM – 3rd)
“I felt a lot better than yesterday. Today I really enjoyed myself riding. The stage was less dangerous than yesterday’s, I didn’t make any mistake and the bike was perfect. I negotiated the first dunes quite well, and that’s encouraging for the upcoming stages, even if the Mauritanian dunes are far bigger. Actually it was a good practice today. It cheers me up for the end of the rally.â€
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Marc Coma (SPA – KTM - 2nd)
"For the first kilometres, we had the sun right in the eyes, and there were a lot of stones. So I was a bit tense. Then we negotiated the first dunes. There were a lot of people and we had to ride safely. But, after the dunes, we were alone. We had the first real navigation problems. But I easily found my way and managed to ride fast till the end. Everything is OK, I am very satisfied with my bike. But I really want to remain cool even if I am the leader so far. Actually, I have always said that the last day is the most important on the Dakar. Therefore, I will keep riding as fast and safely as possible. But it is true that the race has now really started."