Dakar 2013 overal stage 12 Verhoeven Winner

STAGE 12 Dakar 2013 

Runs to secure tomorrow's stage first in the standings

 On a 12th special stage marked by the joint strategy of general standings leader Cyril Despres and his provisional runner-up and team-mate, Ruben Faria, Dutchman Frans Verhoeven picked up his 4th stage victory on the Dakar and his first since 2011. In the general standings, Despres and Faria are solidly installed in the first two places ahead of “Chaleco” Lopez. The situation is almost identical in the car category, where Stéphane Peterhansel is focused on protecting his lead. Despite a small scare after grinding to a halt in the dunes, the Frenchman has a comfortable lead in the general on completion of the special won by Nani Roma.

Despres and Faria control the general, Verhoeven takes advantage… Cyril Despres, third to start the day's special, decided to protect his team-mate Ruben Faria against the attacks of Chaleco Lopez who is always a threat on home soil. As a result, the general standings leader preferred to hold back a little and leave opening the tracks to his rivals, less skilled in navigation. The outcome was a more moderate pace to the race. This strategy paid off perfectly, because at the finishing line, Ruben Faria, tenth to start today, having quickly caught up with the stage leaders, achieved the second best time of the day, 1'38 behind Frans Verhoeven. The Dutchman, 12th to start, took advantage of clear tracks to really hit the gas, picking up his first victory on the Dakar 2013. Behind him, in spite of a painful shoulder following yesterday's fall, Spaniard Joan Barreda put in the day's 3rd best time, 16” in front of Alain Duclos, an excellent 4th on his Sherco.

In the general standings, Despres' and Faria's strategy also functioned flawlessly because the title holder remains untroubled in the lead, 5'39 ahead of his Portuguese team-mate who enjoyed the additional bonus of adding a further 3 minutes to the gap that separates him from Chaleco Lopez, 7th quickest today, now 13'40 behind the rally leader.

Stage 12 Overal 

15 VERHOEVEN (NLD) YAMAHA 03:49:15 - -

11 FARIA (PRT) KTM 03:50:53 00:01:38 -

5 BARREDA BORT (ESP) HUSQVARNA 03:52:16 00:03:01 -

14 DUCLOS (FRA) SHERCO 03:52:32 00:03:17 -

3 RODRIGUES (PRT) HONDA 03:52:50 00:03:35 -

18 PRZYGONSKI (POL) KTM 03:53:22 00:04:07 -

7 LOPEZ (CHL) KTM 03:54:02 00:04:47 -

13 FARRES GUELL (ESP) HONDA 03:54:17 00:05:02 -

30 PIZZOLITO (ARG) HONDA 03:54:37 00:05:22 -

9 PAIN (FRA) YAMAHA 03:54:47 00:05:32

OVERALL GENERAL STAGE 12

1DESPRES (FRA)KTM37:46:59 - 00:15:00
11FARIA (PRT)KTM37:52:38 00:05:39 -
7LOPEZ (CHL)KTM38:00:39 00:13:40 -
32JAKES (SVK)KTM38:07:15 00:20:16 -
12PEDRERO (ESP)KTM38:28:13 00:41:14 -
9PAIN (FRA)YAMAHA38:50:28 01:03:29 -
15VERHOEVEN (NLD)YAMAHA38:52:21 01:05:22 -
3RODRIGUES (PRT)HONDA38:57:43 01:10:44 00:15:00
30PIZZOLITO (ARG)HONDA39:06:19 01:19:20 -
18PRZYGONSKI (POL)KTM39:15:36 01:28:37 00:05:00