Dakar 2003. 12th stage: Siwa-Siwa

Marc Coma joins the elite group
Tenth in todays stage, Coma sees the finish in Sharm el Sheikh getting closer
 Siwa (Egypt).- Today for several minutes, the communiqués of the Rally Dakar organisation proclaimed Marc Coma as the winner of the twelfth stage. But eventually the Spaniard dropped to tenth place for two reasons: first, the late arrival of Giovanni Sala and other riders who had started much later than him and took advantage of the road tracks left by the leading riders. And second, a mistake of the organisation at the refuelling, where Coma was given the start four minutes before his right time for departure. During the refuelling riders always have a neutralisation of 15 minutes. A judge takes their time card at their arrival and hands it out to them giving them the start 15 minutes later. Coma had started fifth today and arrived at the refuelling a bit later than the leading group, which was made up by the four riders that had started before him. The Spanish rider had made up some distance with regard to them but he hadnt managed to catch up with them yet. ‘I was a bit surprised when they gave me the start at the refuelling because I was too close to the leading ones. I thought that I probably hadnt seen them before because of a dune or something’. The fact is that the judge at the refuelling erroneously moved Comas start four minutes forward. The Spaniard caught the group of favourites who were riding slower than usual because they were watching each other. And he arrived with them at the finish line. Since they all finished together and Coma had been the last of them to take the start, the organisation proclaimed him as the winner. He wouldnt have been the winner anyway because Sala and other riders who had started later, like Ullevalseter (KTM), Stanovnik (KTM) or Dabrowsky (KTM), had taken advantage of the holiday of the favourites to include their names among the leaders. But the worst was the initial sensation of having lost the stage due to the organisation, because when they noticed the mistake made at the refuelling, they simply added the four minutes to his time. That played against Coma because even if he had started four minutes later, he would probably have caught the leading riders anyway because they were riding slower than usual. ‘It doesnt matter. The only thing that matters is that we have passed another day doing things the right way. What Im not going to do is to take any risks to make up positions in the overall standings. Finishing is too important for me, its my big goal and Im going to continue with my rhythm and concentrated’, said Coma, who has become the revelation of the race. Today he arrived riding side by side with the elite group: Fabrizio Meoni, Richard Sainct, Cyril and Jean Brucy.