Spanish KTM rider Marc Coma, a top challenger for the Dakar Rally title, protested his innocence Saturday after being handed a six-hour penalty by organizers for an illegal tire change during the previous day's seventh stage. Noting “the stop he made behind a house and the images we have thanks to Google which show exactly where he stopped and for how long, coupled with today's high definition images of the tire .. these images are clear, the tire did not do 200km,” said moto course director Marc Ducrocq. “The decision has therefore been taken by the organizers to hand him a six-hour penalty. “Everyone knew that he had tire problems. He tried to sort it out in his own way and he was caught,” said Ducrocq, who added that the Spanish rider “continues to insist that he did not change a wheel.” Coma, the Dakar motorcycle winner in 2006 and 2009, denied any wrongdoing. “I consider this decision an injustice. At no time can it be proved that I changed a wheel,” said Coma, adding that he would take a day to consider whether to continue on in the race. “It depends a bit on the mental state in which I find myself.” The penalty effectively leaves fellow KTM rider Cyril Despres almost certain to claim the title as he was already just over an hour clear of his Spanish rival, having just edged him by 29sec on the day. Third-placed Helder Rodrigues of Portugal on a Yamaha is 1:20.08 adrift - 14 minutes more than Coma had been - and Norwegian KTM racer Pal Ullevalseter is five minutes further back. Saturday was a rest day before the 9,000km adventure resumes Sunday with a 472km special stage from Antofagasta to Copiapo. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, continued to lead the cars section after the longest stage, a brutal 600km on sand, stones and salt through the Atacama Desert Friday. Sainz was content to let Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar grab some glory on the seventh stage. Al-Attiyah won in 5 hours, 41 minutes, 29 seconds, nearly 3½ minutes ahead of Stephane Peterhansel's BMW, and 4:21 up on third-placed Sainz. Al-Attiyah's sixth ever stage victory lifted him above VW teammate Mark Miller of the United States into second place overall, 11:03 behind Sainz. Miller was another 22:06 behind. Peterhansel, the nine-time winner from France, remained just over two hours off the pace in fifth place. Italian motorcyclist Luca Manca remained in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital in Santiago following a crash on Thursday in which he sustained head injuries. Dr. Alberto Munoz, head of the intensive care unit in Mutual de Seguirdad Hospital, said Manca's condition had improved slightly but that he would remain in an induced coma for at least five days to control swelling on the brain.
