The long wait is finally over as the 2014 Dakar Rally got under-way yesterday in South America. Defending champion Cyril Despres took third place on the first special stage of the rally, coming in 1’40secs behind the lead on his first Dakar stage as a Yamaha Factory Racing rider. As the first rider on to the stage Despres had no tracks to follow and so set the route for the following riders.
Pain were the next Yamaha Factory Racing riders in the rankings, Metge taking eighth on his opening day and Fellow Frenchman Pain taking 16th. Dutch Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven rider Frans Verhoeven eased his way in to the 2014 Dakar, taking a careful ride in to 18th position to kick off his challenge. The first timed action of the 2014 Dakar saw the riders tackle a 180km special stage in the Córdoba region of Argentina. Starting in Rosario, the riders first had to tackle a 405km connection before competing in the 180km timed special. They then had a further 204km connecting ride to wrap up the day in San Luis.
2014 Dakar Rally Overall Standings after Stage 1
1. Joan Barreda, ESP (Honda) 2:25:31
2. Marc Coma, ESP (KTM) 2:26:08
3. Cyril Despres, FRA (Yamaha) 2:27:11
4. Alain Duclos, FRA (Sherco) 2:27:27
5. Paulo Goncalves, PRT (Honda) 2:27:56
6. Chaleco Lopez, CHL (KTM) 2:28:55
7. Juan Pedrero Garcia, ESP (Sherco) 2:29:18
8. Michael Metge, FRA (Yamaha) 2:30:04
9. Sam Sunderland, GBR (Honda) 2:30:04
10. Alessandro Botturi, ITA (Speedbrain) 2:30:19
16. Olivier Pain, FRA (Yamaha) 2:32:18
18. Frans Verhoeven, NED (Yamaha) 2:32:29
