Aussie wins Dakar stage

Bad navigation cost Yamaha rider David Frétigné the lead in the Dakar today as Australian Andy Caldecott took the win on his KTM while Frétigné rode in to the wilderness.

Frétigné was going well on his two-wheel-drive Yamaha WR450 until he followed the tyre tracks and distant dust of some amateur riders and ended up 4km off course.

This left the way free for Caldecott to become the first ever Australian stage winner, just managing to beat second placed man Marc Coma by three seconds.

Coma’s second place means that he moves in to the lead in the overall timings with Caldecott in second and Cyril Despres in third. Frétigné dropped down to seventh place overall.

Leading Brit in the two-wheeled competition is Mick Extance on his Honda XR650 who finished the day 31st, putting him 29th overall; followed by Simon Pavey in 101st which puts him 95th. Nick PLumb was forced to pull out of the race with technical problems.