Well it’s fair to say it’s been a fantastic Dakar Rally for the KTM Factory team so far, and at stage 12, things got even better.

Current race leader Cyril Despres managed to maintain his lead, whilst superbly helping team-mate Ruben Faria cement 2^nd place in the bike contest.

It seemed that team-work was the crucial ingredient to the successful formula the boys from KTM are creating. But this would be tested to the limit as they approached the twelfth stage at Copiapo.

This stage has always carried an element of the ‘fear-factor’ for Dakar riders of all disciplines, which ensured that there was a hint of caution surrounding the competitors.

January 15, 2011; Cordoba, Chile
There is a saying in the Dakar racing circles that goes like this; “To Finish is to Win!” Does it sound cliché? Maybe. But, if you’ve ever competed in the Dakar Rally, or any race for that matter, you know there is no checkered flag for those who don’t finish. It doesn’t matter how fast you went on day #1, or how many cars you passed in day #2, or how quickly your support crew repaired your car on day #3. If you wreck the car or can’t complete on day #10, any hopes of a podium finish, or any finish, will elude the best intentions. Dakar is truly a game of survival of not the fastest, but the fittest. One where the attrition rate is high, and the stakes are higher. If you consider the 430 adrenalin-charged souls who began this marathon of abuse two weeks ago, checkered flags and un-corked bottles of Champaign swirling around in their heads, less than half will be starting tomorrow’s stage. Those who do, who have survived and are still standing, will be heading for the checkered flag in Buenos Aires tomorrow night.
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