Dakar 2012, Stage 12
Arequipa - Nasca
504 km in total, 245 km special test

Successful across the giant dunes

The Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain brought two riders into the top five at stage twelve of the Rally Dakar. Joan Barreda was battling with his fellow countryman Marc Coma for the victory. Coma finally arrived at the finish in Nasca first, 2:43 minutes ahead of Barreda. Paulo Goncalves, still frustrated with yesterday´s jury decision, powered his bike from starting position 17 all the way to fifth on the day.

Barreda gave another super performance. He made a small navigation error in the beginning, before stepping it up and going for the stage victory. He rode on his own all day and through very challenging dunes, which reminded Dakar veterans of the old days in Mauritania. The course was real difficult and the navigation was asking a lot from the riders. Barreda ultimately came out with one more top result in second place.

Paulo Goncalves meanwhile gained his rhythm back. The Portuguese enjoyed a trouble-free day, no problems whatsoever for him. He was rewarded with fifth spot in today´s classification.

Zé Hélio took it relatively easy. The Brazilian understandably had some regard for the monster-sized dunes on the way from Arequipa to Nasca. Teammate Jose Manuel Pellicer had a cruel opening to the stage. The Spaniard landed awkwardly following a jump, crashed and broke his handlebar. Thanks to a makeshift repair he was able to continue. Hats off to him for making it to the finish without even losing too much time.

Altogether the team can be very satisfied with how the second part of the two-day marathon stage went.
Saturday will now see the final hurdles on the way to Lima. It´s a rather long stage with lots of navigation difficulties. The special test offers 275 kilometres and should decide the outcome of the Dakar 2012.

1. Marc Coma (SPA) KTM, 2:24:38 hrs
2. Joan Barreda (SPA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 2:43 min behind
3. Jordi Viladoms (SPA) KTM, 3:10
4. Cyril Despres (FRA) KTM, 3:57
5. Paulo Goncalves (POR) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 5:25
37. Zé Hélio (BRA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 32:09
69. Jose Manuel Pellicer (SPA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 1:12:14

Overall standings
1. Coma, 39:38:16 hrs
2. Despres, 1:35 min behind
3. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha, 1:13:49
4. Viladoms, 1:40:34
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM, 1:41:45
11. Joan Barreda (SPA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 3:29:27
19. Zé Hélio (BRA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 5:44:58
21. Jose Manuel Pellicer (SPA), Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 6:33:37
30. Paulo Goncalves (POR) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 8:03:19

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