Twenty-five kilometres on muddy roads in Narbonne establish the first overall classification with Roma third, Coma sixth and Esteve seventh
The first qualifying special stage of the Dakar 2004 has been held today, with a twenty-five kilometres run around the city of Narbonne. The weather conditions were better than yesterday and the riders did not have to stand any snow. However the heavy rainfall of previous days left muddy roads, so that after the motorbikes and the first cars had passed, the organisation decided to cancel the special stage for trucks given the impassability of the terrain.
Joan Roma was third fastest, 57 seconds behind the winner David Fretigne who is also the first leader of the overall classification. Marc Coma finished sixth and Esteve seventh, occupying the same positions in the overall classification. The special was carried out without any special news except for an electrical problem of Isidre Esteve’s bike that was solved by the team’s technicians. The participants are travelling now to Spain and they are expected to arrive in Castellón at around eight o’clock in the evening. Tomorrow they will be racing a nine kilometres special stage in that city.
Joan Roma: “We are looking forward to good weather after the cold we’ve been having here. It’s no fun riding on a motorbike under conditions like this. With regard to today’s special, it hasn’t been easy at all. There was a lot of mud on very long sections. It was much easier to loose time than to make it up. I’ve been very cautious, but it was very important to finish among the leading positions, though not taking too many risks “.
Isidre Esteve: “It hasn’t been an easy day because we found an electrical problem right before the start of the special and there was no way to make the engine run. We managed to solve it, but I lost a bit of concentration and I decided to ride without taking any risks given the loads of mud on the road. This afternoon the technicians of the team are going to work to find out the reason for the problem”.
Marc Coma: “A very funny, but at the same time difficult special. It felt like a timed Enduro section but with bigger bikes and therefore with very technical areas. I preferred not to take too many risks but the times haven’t been good. Now I’m looking forward to arriving in Castellón to say good by to my family and friends before leaving for Africa “.
Clasificacion de la etapa
1. Fretigne (Yamaha) 22.47
2. Despres (KTM) 23.02
3. Roma (Repsol KTM) 23.44
6. Coma (Repsol KTM) 23.49
7. Esteve (Repsol KTM) 23.52
Overall classification
1. Fretigne (Yamaha)
2. Despres (KTM) + 15
3. Roma (Repsol KTM) + 57
6. Coma (Repsol KTM) + 1.02
7. Esteve (Repsol KTM) + 1.05
Today´s stage
Narbonne – Castellón. Liaison: 6 Kms. Special: 25 Km. Liaison: 500 Km. Total: 531 Km.
And tomorrow….
Castellón-Tánger. Liaison: 2 Kms. Special: 9 Km. Liaison: 820 Km. Total: 831 Km.
