Autos January 19, 2010, 3:21PM EST

VW Dominates 2010 Paris-Dakar

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Marc Coma, Despres' eternal rival in the KTM camp, finally finished in 15th place after penalties put him out of contention. But he still had four stage wins to his credit and, penalties aside, his actual riding time was remarkable close to that of Despres, proof enough that the two KTM riders are in a class of their own in international rally competition. The result was all the more remarkable because both Despres and Coma had to ride with air restrictors on their KTM 690 rally machines, to reduce the performance down to the level of a 450 cc bike, since the middle of 2010, the new standard for racing the Dakar.

Final standings - bikes

The 2010 was yet another triumph for KTM, the Austria manufacturer whose sports machines play such a dominant role in international offroad competition. KTM first won the Dakar Rally in 2001 and has been undefeated ever since. Six of those victories have come with either Despres or Coma at the handlebars and each has now won three Dakar titles.

1. Cyril Despres, Andorra, KTM (2010 winner)

2. Pal Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM (at 1:02'52")

3. Francisco Lopez, Chile, Aprilia, (at 1:08.34)

4. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha

5. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha

15. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM

Russia's Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) won the truck category, 1h13'08 ahead of his teammate and countryman Firdaus Kabirov (Kamaz) and 10h43'20 ahead of Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet (Ginaf). The "Tsar" has previously won Dakar in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006.

In the Quad category, Yamaha dominated the event, with a 1-2-3 plus fifth and sixth also. After finishing second in 2009, Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) won the 2010 Dakar finishing 2h22'59 ahead of his older brother Alejandro Patronelli (Yamaha), and 5h 07'31 ahead of Spain's Juan Manuel "Pedrega" Gonzalez Corominas (Yamaha). Frenchman Christophe Declerck (Polaris) was fourth in the final standings 4'12 ahead of Polish rider Rafal Sonik (Yamaha).

Finally, in the sponsorship category, Austrian Energy Drink Red Bull should be due for some sort of prize, having sponsored the first three cars, the first two bikes and the first two trucks.

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