Dakar 2004. Stage 4. Tánger-Er Rachidia

Isidre Esteve, new reace leader
The Repsol rider leads the overall motorbike standings, 14 seconds ahead of Fabrizio Meoni Roma looses four minutes due to a tyre problem. Coma finishes without news
Isidre Esteve made his debut in Africa taking the lead. The Repsol KTM rider took the leading position in the overall standings thanks to his third place in the fourth stage, first stage on the African continent. Today’s special was a short one, with only 75 kilometres, but more complicated than expected due to the heavy rainfall in Morocco during the last weeks that left the roads in bad conditions.The winner of day was Fabrizio Meoni. Esteve’s third place pushed him up to the top of the standings with a 14 seconds advantage over the Italian rider and 17 over Despres. Bad day for Joan Roma. Problems with the rear tyre made him loose several minutes sending him back to 13th position, 4.03 behind his team-mate. One of the favourites, Richard Sainct, suffered a heavy crash but he is still in the race. Tomorrow they’ll have a 337 kilometres special stage in southern Morocco.Isidre Esteve: ‘Everything went very good. We already made this stage two years ago but it had rained a lot and there was a lot of mud, the track condition changed constantly. It was fast, slippery and funny. I’ve had a great time despite having to cross a quite complicated river. I’m also very satisfied with the result at the end of the day. Leading is a great way to start in Africa ‘.Joan Roma: ‘This morning I decided to mount a different tyre than usual because it had rained a lot, but the track was much faster and harder than I thought and the tyre got broken. I lost a lot of time and now I’ll have to work hard to make up for the differences. The problem will be to stand the dust of the other participants tomorrow. I’ll start from the back but things like this can happen, and tomorrow I’ll have to catch up with the front. Bit by bit and with no hurry.’Marc Coma: ‘It’s been a nice special and the track was pleasant despite the mud. It was good for a first contact with the Road Book. Too bad Nani had those problems. I found him at the end of the stage and helped him to reach the assistance’.Stage classification 1. Meoni (KTM) 41.53 2. Cox (KTM) + 433. Esteve (Repsol KTM) + 1.13 9. Coma (Repsol KTM) + 2.18 23. Roma (Repsol KTM) + 5.09General classification1. Esteve (Repsol KTM) 2. Meoni (KTM) + 14 3. Despres (KTM) + 17 6. Coma (Repsol KTM) + 1.45 13. Roma (Repsol KTM) + 4.03Today´s stage  Tánger-Er Rachidia. Liaison: 233 Kms. Special: 75 Km. Liaison: 444 Km. Total: 752 Km.And tomorrow…. Er Rachidia-Ouarzazate. Liaison: 56 Kms. Special: 337 Km. Liaison: 182 Km. Total: 575 Km.