“I lost some time at the 55th kilometre way point and I had to ride back a little bit in order to avoid a penalty. Nothing special with my bike except that my speed alarm stopped working one hundred kilometers before the end of the stage. I could only rely on the light of the system which was really stressing. I had to focus on my speed all the time. We are heading to Mauritania and there is no big time difference between the front-runners. I have to be cautious because navigation will play a great role over there.”

“I knew from the beginning that things were going on well for me. I quickly overtook the riders ahead of me but I didn’t I would finish in the top 5. Above all, I wanted to ride safely on this rocky track, and get a bit more familiar to the GPS before the big Mauritanian stages. So, I am very happy. Actually, since the first days, I really enjoy myself on the Dakar.”

« We were told yesterday that navigation wouldn’t very important today. And it was true. The track was beautiful, technically demanding and requesting good riding skills. Actually, I really enjoyed myself riding today since the course was quite different from the previous year’s. There were less stones and holes than usually. It was really fun. I guess there must have been quite a lot of dust, but it was really embarrassing for me since I started among the first. Actually I am very happy about this result, before entering Mauritania, where the race may totally change.”

It was a good day. I really enjoyed myself riding. The stage was both fast and technically demanding. Actually, when you have fun on the bike it really is a plus. Even if the stage was supposed to e easy in terms of navigation, we always have to remain focussed on navigation since we don’t have a co-pilot. There has been one or two critical moments where the leading riders must have lost a few minutes. But the gaps are once again very tiny. Actually, Isidre must have made a really good stage. He was opening the way today and I thought he would have lost much more time than he did. Yet, I managed to catch up Isidre and Coma. So I am satisfied. It has been a pleasant with a second stage victory on this year’s rally. I come a bit closer to the leaders. Unfortunately, I broke my speed alarm. A kind of clue that such as men, technical stuff can sometime fail.”

“There was a lot of dust in the first kilometres of the stages. On the other hand, the navigation was quite easy, and the track very fast with a few traps to watch out. But I really enjoyed myself. In the morning, we had the sun right in the eyes. It was tiring since we had to remain focused on the track. But I as the sun rose up, I could at last throttle. But the most important thing is that we are now at the end of Morocco, still fit. The bike is perfect and we haven’t had any major problem, in spite of two dangerous rocky stages. Now the rally really starts as we enter Mauritania, where the final result may be decided.”