Cyril Despres
Cyril Despres (born 24 January 1974)[1] is a French rally racer and resident of Andorra.[2] He won the Dakar Rally five times, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013,[3] riding a KTM motorcycle. He also won the Red Bull Romaniacs, one of the toughest hard enduro events on the planet, three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003.[4] In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total.[5]
 Cyril Despres in 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 24, 1974 Nemours, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Motorsport (cars, bikes) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Rally raid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World finals | 2 World Championship (2003, 2009) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career
On 10 January 2012, at the 2012 Dakar Rally, Portuguese pilot Paulo Gonçalves pulled Despres out of the mud but Cyril did not return the favour. Out of 7 riders all but the Spaniard Marc Coma got stuck; the organisers therefore changed the course. At the end of the stage, the time lost was credited to Despres. Goncalves received a penalty of 6 hours for receiving external help. Coma was not credited the time he lost by going around the mudhole.[6][7][8][9][10]
After a closely fought battle with his KTM teammate, Spaniard Marc Coma for the victory, Despres got back into the lead on the penultimate stage (Stage 13) thanks to a mechanical failure on Coma's bike. Despres managed to maintain the lead until the end of the rally. Thus Cyril Despres gained his fourth overall victory on the Dakar Rally, equaling former Honda and Cagiva rider, Italian Edi Orioli's performance.
A new chapter began in his Dakar career in 2015 when he joined the Peugeot team as a driver alongside Carlos Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel, who previously switched from the motorbike to car category with great success. His co-driver was Gilles Picard, and they finished 34th. In 2016 Despres came in 7th overall; his co-driver was David Castera.[11]
In July 2016, he and Castera won the cars' category at the Silk Way Rally.[12] Despres and his partner repeated their success in the next year.[13]
Dakar Rally results
| Year | Class | Vehicle | Position | Stages won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Motorbike |  Honda |
16th | 0 |
| 2001 |  BMW |
13th | 1 | |
| 2002 |  KTM |
DNF | 0 | |
| 2003 | 2nd | 3 | ||
| 2004 | 3rd | 4 | ||
| 2005 | 1st | 2 | ||
| 2006 | 2nd | 4 | ||
| 2007 | 1st | 2 | ||
| 2008 | Event cancelled – replaced by Central Europe Rally | |||
| 2009 | Motorbike | KTM |
2nd | 4 |
| 2010 | 1st | 3 | ||
| 2011 | 2nd | 3 | ||
| 2012 | 1st | 3 | ||
| 2013 | 1st | 1 | ||
| 2014 | Yamaha |
4th | 3 | |
| 2015 | Cars | Peugeot |
34th | 0 |
| 2016 | 7th | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 3rd | 1 | ||
| 2018 | 31st | 1 | ||
| 2019 |  Mini |
5th | 0 | |
| 2020 | SSV | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} OT3 buggy[14] |
DNF | 0 |
| 2021 | Cars | Peugeot |
10th | 0 |
Other results
- Cars
2016 (Peugeot 2008 DKR), 2017 (Peugeot 3008 DKR)[15]
- Bikes
- (2004, 2005, 2009)
(2003)
(2000)
- Orient Rally
- (2005)
- (2000, 2003, 2010, 2012)
- (2006, 2011)
- (2007, 2009, 2013)
- (2009)
References
- Cyril Despres – Red Bull profile
- World Xtreme Enduro Championship – Cyril Despres Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Rider sheet – Cyril DESPRES Archived 2011-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Cyril Despres, the 07 RB Romaniacs Rally and the brand new 2008 model KTM 300 EXC-E
- "Team Peugeot Total - The team". redbull.com. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- Cyril Despres’s Blog: Dakar Rally | Muddy mayhem, Cyril Despres, 2012-01-10.
- Cyril Despres gives Marc Coma a commanding lead with mistake on stage eight of the Dakar Rally, 2012-01-10, foxsports australia.
- 2012 Dakar Rally: Fair Play Abandoned in the Mud (Video), dave on dailypicsandflics with the video of Despres deserting Goncalves, 2012-01-10.
- Barreda in the top five again Archived 2014-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, Goncalves speedbrain Team site, 2012-01-10.
- Goncalves Penalized 6 Hours In Dakar Archived 2014-01-11 at the Wayback Machine, 2012-01-12.
- Organisation, A.S.O. - Amaury Sport. "General ranking stage 13 car page :Dakar". Retrieved 2016-07-30.
- "The Silk Way Flame". www.silkwayrally.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-30. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
- S.14 Despres and Sotnikov score doubles at Xi’an
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200110090400/https://www.redbull.com/int-en/ot3-by-overdrive-rally-raid-sxs-buggy
- "Team PEUGEOT Total Dakar 2018 driver and co-driver presentation". automobilsport.com. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Driver profile at Worldrallyraid.com
- Driver profile at Dakar.com
- Driver profile at Lerepairedesmotards.com
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nani Roma |
Dakar Rally Motorcycle Winner 2005 |
Succeeded by Marc Coma |
| Preceded by Marc Coma |
Dakar Rally Motorcycle Winner 2007 |
Succeeded by Marc Coma |
| Preceded by Marc Coma |
Dakar Rally Motorcycle Winner 2010 |
Succeeded by Marc Coma |
| Preceded by Marc Coma |
Dakar Rally Motorcycle Winner 2012–2013 |
Succeeded by Marc Coma |