Declarations
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Isidre Esteve Pujol (ESP - KTM - 3ème)
« We have just left Morocco and we started to ride in real sand "made in Dakar" today even if the dunes were not excessively difficult to pass. We are going to try to reach halftime of the race without any mistake to make things clearer. The competition is hard for the moment but it is quite normal. »
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Marc Coma (ESP – KTM – 5th)
« That was a long stage with camel grass and dunes. A nice and very fast stage indeed. It is bad that Cyril (Despres) fell down after refueling. I arrived on the spot 20 seconds later before Isidre (Esteve) and Carlo (de Gavardo). Cyril was unconscious and three of us stayed close to him. »
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Carlo de Gavardo (CHI – KTM – 1st)
“We entered the real Africa today with plenty of off-road. We had to be very careful. It is getting tough day after day but I feel really good. I did not ride too fast because I wanted to keep cautious on any kind of danger.â€
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Pal Ullevalseter (NOR - KTM - 4ème)
"I did a good stage, the overall pace was very fast in the first half, Giovanni Sala overtook me and I was glad to be able to follow him. Like him, I had problems with the speed limit, I had to ride very carefully. The race was dangerous in Morocco, I rode at my own pace without taking any risk. My current strategy is to stay in the top 1O every day. I will attack later in long and hot stages."
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Giovanni Sala (ITA – KTM – 2nd)
"I did quite well today. I overtook Pal Anders (Ullevalseter) very early and I rode as fast as possible to catch up with the front-runners as soon as possible, especially Marc (Coma). My navigation was ok in the last part of the stage and I accelerated again and again to put the pressure on the front-runners. I was right. I am glad not to have made mistakes, I had great fun on the bike. I’ve never been lucky in Morocco. I am quite far on the overall standing but anything is still possible."
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David Frétigné (FRA – Yamaha – 8th)
"The beginning pf the stage was not easy for me since the first 200 kilometres were very fast.I knew it would not be easy with a 450 CC in these conditions, but today the mecanics had decided to protect the engine. They made a special set up which limited me under 130 km/h. As a result, I lost a bit more time on the fastest. Luckily, after the first refueling, we entered the first dunes. It was beautiful. Above all, navigation became very important. We had to ride according to our heading, and were off the track most of the time. After a few kilometres, I decided to try a different option. It seems to have been a good idea. Actually, if I could have been 10 km/h faster, I could have won the stage. We’ll see tomorrow."
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Cyril Despres (FRA - KTM - 7th)
"I have dislocated my collarbone. The doctors say it is a stage 2 dislocation. I am fine. The crash happened at km 273, 50 km before the refuel point. I do remember hitting some camel grass and the back end kicking up. Isidre and Marc arrived and helped me. I don’t have the feeling that I made a big mistake. I do hope that I will be fine tomorrow morning. I couldn’t go home without at least trying to ride. My feelings are very mixed. On the one hand, it is 11 months training down the drain and that is obviously very frustating. On the other hand, it could have been a lot worse."