Day 12 and Day 13 of the 2012 Dakar rally saw Marc Coma and Cyril Despres continue to jostle for position on top, while Helder Rodrigues managed to get his first stage win.
Coma pulled out a win on Day 12 in Peru, managing to pull ahead of Despres in the overall standings, with the French rider finishing fourth.
Despres managed a comeback on Day 13, however, regaining his overall lead, even though he only finished second – Rodrigues managed to win the stage. Coma’s KTM suffered from gearbox problems. and left him finishing the day in 18th position. He’s still second overall, 11 minutes and change behind Despres, and about an hour ahead of third-place Rodrigues.
So, with one stage left, Despres looks poised to reclaim the championship from Coma, unless something goes terrible wrong tomorrow – and in the Dakar, that’s certainly possible.
Look below for video highlights of Day 12, as well as the current top five riders.
