Cyril Despres retires from the 2011 Australian Safari after hit a metal fence post with his foot.

Cyril Despres

I was riding down a fence line at quite a low speed, maybe 40 kph, when I hit a metal fence post with my left boot. Unfortunately it stuck the leather just between the two plastic buckles and pieced the boot, the inner boot and my skin. Straightaway my foot began to swell and my immediate concern was that, 3 months from the Dakar, I was going to be stuck with a broken foot. I rode to the nearby assistance point and from there went with the team car to the local hospital. To my huge relief an x-ray showed that finally nothing was broken and that the swelling was due to broken flood vessels.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of rallies I haven’t completed, so obviously I am disappointed not to have made it to the final finish line here, especially as I was so well looked after by Don McGrath and all the guys from KTM Australia. It is my first visit to this vast continent and I was impressed by the welcome of these straightforward people, the competitiveness of their riders and the sheer speed of a rally unlike any other. My last competitive outing before next January, now it is directly back to Presport in Perpignan in the south of France for some additional examinations to get the all clear before starting my 2012 Dakar training schedule.

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No change at the top of the leader board with Todd Smith staying ahead of his brother and third placed man Faggotter. Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) however moves up to 4th after Shane Diener broke down in the second special.

Cyril Despres

“Although there were only five changes of direction this morning the first special was not too bad. Where we rode today was a little more open with less bushes and you were able to see where you were going. One of the riders ahead of me broke down on the stage so I have moved up to fourth overall. Here the riders attack really hard and the rate of attrition, both mechanical and physical is pretty high. If I’m not careful I’ll finish on the podium!”

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Shane Diener again took the stage ahead of the Smith brothers Jacob and Todd. Overall Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) moves up to fifth just over an hour behind the leader.

Cyril Despres

“There was a nice 80 kilometre or so section of twisty sandy track early on this morning that was fun to ride, and then after that I took it easy again. Very unusually here it actually rained quite hard, which caught everybody by surprise. Naturally I wasn’t really equipped for those kinds of conditions and got soaked to the skin. Back in the bivouac I can feel a cold coming on nicely!”

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Victory on the third stage went to Shane Diener ahead of Todd Smith and Rod Faggotter. Despite finishing 10th, after getting lost, Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) maintained his 6th place overall.

Cyril Despres

“This morning went pretty well and over a hundred kilometres or so the terrain reminded me of those plateau in Mauritania with the burnt black stones. Except I knew I wasn’t in Mauritania ‘cos half way through I met my first kangaroo. Happily the encounter passed off without incident and both of us were able to continue on our way unimpeded. Then over the second part of the stage I again had problems following the road book and went ‘gardening’ for 20 minutes or so, and as you can imagine, that kind of ruined my day.”

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Victory on today’s stage went to Ben Grabham ahead of Todd Smith and Shane Diener. Overall the Smith brothers hold the lead with Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) remaining in sixth place (at 14’31).

Cyril Despres

“This morning was different to yesterday and more fun to ride. There were some good corners to slide around and better visibility, which meant that my lack of familiarity with the road book was less of a handicap. This afternoon however didn’t go so well. The track was more through the vegetation and so trickier to navigate. Coming around one corner I came face to face with a huge lizard – it must have been a metre and a half long. I’m not sure who was more surprised, him or me, but at least we managed to avoid hitting each other!”

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After a few days acclimatisation in Perth, Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) tackled his first ever Australasian Safari special stage to finish in sixth place, just under nine minutes behind the winner Todd Smith, with Todd’s brother Jacob second ahead of third placed man Rod Faggotter.

Cyril Despres

“Given the time difference we decided to come over a few days before the start and had a really good time discovering a little bit of Western Australia. Among other things, my mechanic Roly and I went swimming with sea lions, which was simply amazing, and also attended a great party given by KTM Australia where I auctioned off my bike’s front fairing for charity. Obviously the highest bidder will have to wait until after the race to get his hands on his prize!”

“Then yesterday we had the prologue where I got stuck behind a slower rider, which meant starting the special in 8th place this morning. In the end that didn’t turn out to be too much of a handicap because the road book was very different to what I am used to and slowed me down a lot. Just over the first part of the stage I went wrong three times and after that decided to back off and take my time. It is a little like learning another language, or at least a very different dialect and I need to become more fluent before being able to attack and challenge for the lead.”

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