Quotes of the day - Stage 14

16 Jan 2012, 12:00 PM

The quotes of the day from Stage 14 of the 2012 Dakar Rally.

Your thoughts?

BIKE

Cyril Despres

"I always pay attention to detail. I like doing my homework and, in my job, when things go OK you end up winning. Today we won and it's simply fantastic. This is without a shadow of a doubt the toughest Dakar I've ever raced in. It was difficult physically, but even more psychologically. Challenging yourself every morning and fighting on the course takes its toll on your mind. It's not like a 42-kilometre marathon; here, you have to earn your place every morning. All victories are beautiful, but this one is special because it came down to the wire and was decided at the last minute. This was an unimaginable scenario, with the leaders separated by mere seconds. I've done 90 or 85 rallies throughout my life, and this one was the one where I had to fight the hardest.

"Today will leave its mark on me. There's only one Stéphane Peterhansel in the world. I don't know if I'm good at driving cars, I've never tried. What I do know is that he's got a good co-pilot, Jean-Paul Cotteret, and I've got a good team-mate, Ruben Faria."

Marc Coma

"I finished second in what was a difficult rally. I gave it my all every single day. I wish to congratulate Cyril. He's the champion. But I'm going to work hard to try and win again next year. If we keep alternating... it should be my turn. But first I have to work.

CAR

Stephane Peterhansel

"When you think of how hard it is to win a Dakar, it's incredible that I've been able to win ten of them. It's been a long time, I've been waiting for five years to win again. To take the victory in South America is a huge relief, it ranks among my best triumphs.

"Moreover, the race was very close during the first week and there was always a lot of pressure. Winning the rally for Team X-Raid makes it even more special, since Sven Quandt has been waiting for years for this to happen. I don't know what I could do to go one better. Beating this record is going to be difficult... for the others. This race is stressful, exciting and fascinating, and it's also very rewarding at the end. Now I'm going to party with the entire team and then we'll see. My finest victory will always be my first win in the motorcycle category, but this one has something special to it.

"I was starting to doubt myself, to think I was growing too old for this, that I'd lost it or that I wasn't made for South America... and in the end everything turned out fine. But I still have a blue bandana from my motorcycling period. I didn't tell anyone, but I kept it in my pocket throughout the entire rally. It's the story of the comeback of the blue bandana."

Joan 'Nani' Roma

"[It was] very positive. I feel like I'm able to win again. I've got a good car and drive for a good team. I raced strongly and stayed focused. My stage victories were but a footnote. The most important thing is that it was a win for the team, that I came second at the end of a good race with zero mistakes."

Robby Gordon

"We were very fast this morning. I think we beat the second car by 1'30" over a bit more than 20 km. But I've always thought that second place is just the first among the losers. So I'm afraid we're fourth among the losers. But the best thing was having the fastest car in the rally, whatever the others say. My Hummer and Nasser's were the two fastest cars. I may come back."

QUAD

Alexandro Patronelli

"The stage was fine. I can't believe the Dakar is over. It was difficult at times but everything turned out okay. It's my second victory. It's very hard to win twice in a row. Last year I suffered a lot with my hand pain, but this year everything was perfect from the beginning to the end. No problems at all. Thank God. I'd like to thank everyone who cheered me on."

TRUCK

Gerard de Rooy

"It's wonderful. I can't believe we already did it this year. It's all thanks to our teamwork. I'm a bit moved, but I'll keep my sunglasses on. The entire race was terrific. I was 22-years-old when I embarked on this and now, a decade on, we did it exactly 25 years after my father won the Dakar. I was very nervous before the start this morning, but it was a lot of fun. I'm proud of the entire team and my two cabin mates."