Arras-Madrid-Dakar: Stage nine quotes

Stage 9 - Zouerat to Atar

BIKES

ALFIE COX
"I fell off when I hit a big rock that I hadn't seen in the 'fech-fech'. I damaged the two boxes on the right of the bike. I was obliged to be careful not to lose too much fuel. That took me some time. I preferred to continue rather than lose more time. I had little fuel but, looking back, I would have lost more time to repair the damage."

JOAN ROMA
"There was a lot of dust today. I passed the first dunes, difficult, with care, and then I got stuck in the last one, two kilometres from the refuelling. The dunes were very soft and I think that a lot of competitors will be stuck there this evening. I am happy to be here in Atar on the bike. Last year I came here via helicopter...."

JORDI ARCARONS
"The dunes were very soft, especially the last. They were all going to be difficult. We passed without too many problems. I am happy to be here. I feel good physically. We will attack on the second section of the Dakar and hopefully have a play. Many riders still have a chance to win. I wait....."

FABRIZIO MEONI
"For me the important thing is to check that the bike is competitive in the dunes and the camel grass. It is the first time that it has run on difficult terrain like this. #The engine is new. It has only existed for six months. I have a little fear on this type of terrain, but everything is okay. The classification signifies nothing. All the riders are competitive. The race is open. It is a great spectacle. And contrary to what the world says, the race is very close. We are all KTM and against each other. There is a battle and we are all friends.

And more important. For sure. I want to win, but if it was Nani or Richard I would be happy."

CARS

KENJIRO SHINOZUKA
"I had a puncture about 70 kms into the stage and we lost some time because the jacking point on the car is damaged. But I'm happy with second place. We will look at the car now over the next couple of days and maybe change the suspension and the differential. The suspension is tired after the last few days."

HIROSHI MASUOKA
"I spoke to my mechanics and they said push today, so I pushed and we had a good stage. The sand was not too difficult, but the dunes were quite high and we damaged the bumper. There will be no team orders. We are all professional drivers and have different sponsors. It will be a battle to the end."

JUTTA KLEINSCHMIDT
"We ran a good stage, but I take my hat off to Hiroshi, he was flying today. There's a long way to go and we are third. I'm sorry for Gregoire that he had his problems. It would have been nice to battle with Nissan. Now it's looking like a battle between Stephane and the Mitsubishis. The car is okay now. I've had my problems and I'm lookin forward to the rest of the race."