Marc Coma looks back on a problem on the penultimate stage of the 2012 Dakar rally that appears to have cost him the overall lead.
Before we come to each Dakar we know that things are going to be difficult. The race is so long and this means that everything is possible. On the third day of this race we made a mistake and after that we had to try to get back into the race. To do that we had to keep pushing on every day and over every kilometre. That was the only option we had.
We managed to change the situation by recovering the time that had been lost on the leader and that meant we had options again. We thought we were in a better position than we were but then the jury decided to give back minutes to some riders. Even with that we were still in the race and we just kept pushing until the end.
'I landed a jump and heard this awful sound from beneath me on the bike'
Today was always going to be difficult for me to maintain the small lead I had because I was opening the road. At the 26km mark my gearbox broke, I landed a jump and heard this awful sound from beneath me on the bike. After that I had no second or third gear and in that moment I realised that this would not be my year.
It was such a pity because the whole team had worked so hard to put me in a position to fight for the win. After fighting over every kilometre of track it’s hard to get a problem so near the end that costs so much time. Now I’m left with a strange feeling because to get this far in the Dakar is always a great achievement but also I know how close I came to winning the race.
I think it was a really interesting race this year between Cyril and myself, we were really going for it out there. Our place in the end is second position but that is the Dakar, it’s never going to be easy.
Keep tabs on Marc’s 2012 Dakar Rally on Red Bull’s dedicated desert classic website.
Want more?
- Marc Coma's Red Bull profile
- Head to his official website at marccoma.com
- Go to the official website of the Dakar Rally 2012
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