Cyril Despres (born 24 January 1974) is a French rally racer and resident of

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. He won the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, ...

five times, in

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2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, riding a

KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...

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 The Erzberg Rodeo is an Austrian motorcycle enduro event started in 1995 and held annually in May or June, run on ore. It is the largest of its kind in Europe. The Erzberg Rodeo is part of the Red Bull Hard Enduro Series, together with Re ...

in 2002 and 2003. In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the

Team Peugeot Total Team Peugeot Total is the factory team of French car manufacture Peugeot. The team competes in the Dakar Rally and the FIA World Rallycross Championship. Main victories The team won two Dakar Rally and one 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rally raid cars ...

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 Marc Coma i Camps (born 7 October 1976) is a Spanish rally racing motorcycle rider. He won the Dakar Rally in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2015 riding a KTM motorcycle, and is also a six-time winner of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion ...

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. After a closely fought battle with his KTM teammate, Spaniard

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 is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

and

Cagiva Cagiva is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded in 1950 by Giovanni Castiglioni in Varese, originally producing small metal components. Giovanni's sons, Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni, went into the motorcycle industry in 1978. ...

rider, Italian

Edi Orioli Edi Orioli (born 5 December 1962 in Udine) is an Italian rallying motorcycle racer. Many consider Orioli to be one of the best motorcyclists in rallying, with four victories in the Dakar Rally, and one victory in the Pharaoh Rally, and was conside ...

's performance. A new chapter began in his Dakar career in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

when he joined the Peugeot team as a driver alongside

Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz may refer to: People * Carlos Sainz Sr. (born 1962), Spanish rally driver world champion, father of Jr. * Carlos Sainz Jr. (born 1994), Spanish Formula One driver, son of Sr. Other uses * '' Carlos Sainz: World Rally Championship'', 1 ...

and

Stéphane Peterhansel Stéphane Peterhansel (born 6 August 1965 in Échenoz-la-Méline, Haute-Saône) is a rally racing, rally driver from France. He holds the record for wins at the Dakar Rally, with 14 victories. In the 2018 season he was one of the official drivers ...

, who previously switched from the motorbike to car category with great success. His co-driver was

Gilles Picard The Gilles are the oldest and principal participants in the Carnival of Binche in Belgium. They go out on Shrove Tuesday from 4 am until late hours and dance to traditional songs. Other cities, such as La Louvière and Nivelles, have a traditi ...

, and they finished 34th. In 2016 Despres came in 7th overall; his co-driver was David Castera. In July 2016, he and Castera won the cars' category at the

Silk Way Rally The Silk Way Rally ( rus, Шёлковый путь) is an annual rally raid type of off-road race. The first Silk Way Rally was raced in 2009 from Kazan, Russia to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. From 2010 to 2013, the race has taken place in Russia. ...

. Despres and his partner repeated their success in the next year.

Dakar Rally results

''NOTE: The ASO legally moved the 2008 Dakar race to Hungary and Romania following a terrorist attack in Mauritania by deferring all entries to the replacement event.''

Other results

;Cars *

: 2016 (

Peugeot 2008 DKR The Peugeot 2008 DKR is an off-road competition car specially designed to take part in the rally raids with the main objective of winning the Dakar Rally. Engine specifications Dakar victories See also * Peugeot 2008 The Peugeot 2008 is a ...

), 2017 (

Peugeot 3008 DKR The Peugeot 3008 DKR is an off-road competition car specially designed to take part in rally raid, rally raids with the main objective of winning the Dakar Rally. The team is Team Peugeot Total. Engine Specifications Dakar victories See also ...

) ;Bikes * Tunisia Rally : (2004, 2005, 2009) : (2003) : (2000) * Orient Rally : (2005) *

Rallye du Maroc The Rallye du Maroc (Morocco Rally) was a marathon rally, similar to the Safari Rally, but that should not be confused with the Rallye du Maroc rally raid introduced in 2000. History It was first run in 1934, and held intermittently until 1988. ...

: (2000, 2003, 2010, 2012) * Brazil Rally : (2006, 2011) : (2007, 2009, 2013) * Rally dos Sertões : (2009)

References

External links

*
Driver profile
at Worldrallyraid.com
Driver profile
at Dakar.com
Driver profile
at Lerepairedesmotards.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Despres, Cyril 1974 births Living people Andorran sportspeople Dakar Rally drivers Dakar Rally motorcyclists Dakar Rally winning drivers French motocross riders Off-road motorcycle racers Enduro riders Peugeot Sport drivers