DLORTO MOTO

“La vie en… blue”

The second edition of the Dakar in Latin America finished with a podium and award ceremony where the drivers and teams of 88 bikes, 14 quads, 57 cars and 28 trucks were celebrated. Blue was the color of the day with Cyril Despres winning his third Dakar whilst Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli won in the quad category. In the car category, Carlos Sainz won the rally raid after a tough and close battle with Nasser Al Attiyah. On the truck side, the road was much clearer for Vladimir Chagin, who lined up the records in this year’s edition: he equated the record number of Dakar victories of Karel Loprais with a sixth victory in the truck category.

The wheel is turning… for Despres

He had been waiting for it for three years. The tears of joy rolling down the cheeks of Cyril Despres on the finish line of the last special stage are the symbol of the long journey he had to take. Three long years of disappointment, frustration and – above all – training have gone by since his last title on the banks of Lake Rose in Dakar. One year ago, the French rider – in addition to facing significant tire problems – found someone stronger than him on his way, a man named Marc Coma. But the tide turned in the 32nd edition. Motivated and prepared like never before, and surrounded by a team devoted to his cause like e.g. his support rider Ruben Faria, Despres mastered his Dakar end to end, riding his KTM 690 – although restrained – like no other. No flashy coup in his riding but Despres was as steady as any three-time Dakar winner ought to be. This is the only way to win a Dakar, by being steady. With three stage victories on top of the final triumph, Cyril Despres joins his former teammate, the late Richard Sainct, in the ranking of those who have won the Dakar three times after his two previous victories in 2005 and 2007.

Despres’ designated contender, Marc Coma, put on a good show until stage 3, the stage raced in the furnace of the Fiambala sand dunes. An overheating engine then made him lose more than 20 minutes on the French rider. Two stages later, a tire problem pushed him even further back in the standings as the Catalan lost another half-hour. Adding to it a 6-hour penalty for “illegal assistance”, the man with two Dakar victories finished the rally raid in 15th position 6h34’ behind the winner and had to console himself with the biggest number of special stages won in the Dakar, i.e. 5 stage victories.

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German firm welcome back their former ‘apprentice’

After weeks of speculation Mercedes confirmed on Wednesday that Michael Schumacher will make a comeback to race for the team next season alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg.

Schumacher, who retired at the end of 2006, has signed a deal that will see him return to the Formula One grid at the age of 41, bidding to add to his record tally of 91 wins and seven world titles.

It follows a planned comeback earlier this year for Ferrari – the team with which he won his last five drivers’ championships – to replace the injured Felipe Massa. Those plans had to be abandoned because of a neck injury from a motorbike accident.

Now fully fit, Schumacher will revive his relationship with Mercedes, a company with whom he had close ties earlier in his career. The German carmaker recently purchased the 2009 title-winning Brawn GP team, retaining team principal Ross Brawn, who previously helped lead Schumacher to title glory at Benetton and Ferrari.

“Mercedes GP Petronas represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context,” said Schumacher. “It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme.

“I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula One World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula One career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Michael Schumacher sporting a new “Ferrari Red” Helmet with Mercedes Logo at Jerez during his GP2 Test.

Ross Brawn commented: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our Mercedes GP Petronas team. As seven-time world champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again.

“With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at Mercedes GP Petronas is extremely excited about the challenge ahead.”

Explaining Schumacher’s previous Mercedes relationship, Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, added: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: ‘It’s about time that I got into Formula One’. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven world championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver.

“As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his drivers’ world championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula One. It didn’t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”