Despres knows how it’s done with bikes and cars
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Bikes or cars at Dakar? Watch Cyril Despres decide

Five wins on a bike and now competing on four wheels has Cyril in pole position to make comparisons.
Written by Tim Sturtridge
1 min readPublished on

3 min

Story Clip (Dirty) 2 wheels vs 4 wheels

Cyril Despres explains the differences between competing on two and four wheels at the Dakar Rally.

Cyril Despres tasted victory five times at the Dakar Rally during a distinguished career on two wheels. Then there came a change of direction in his roadbook when he joined Team Peugeot Total to continue his desert journey by car. His progression has been rapid and he takes the start-line of the upcoming Dakar with victory on four wheels at the Silk Way Rally under his belt.
Watch the clip above to see Cyril give us the differences between racing bikes and cars at the Dakar.
It’s much more physical to handle the bike, staying glued to the handlebar the whole day,” reveals Cyril. “In the car it demands a lot of concentration to listen to the co-driver and go the right direction without seeing it with your own eyes. This was not easy in the beginning.”
You have so much freedom when you’re on a bike and you can decide whatever in a second. The car is different, you have to remember it’s 1.5 ton so when you want to stop you need a certain distance to make it.
Cyril Despres
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Cyril Despres

A five-time winner of the Dakar Rally on a motorbike, France's Cyril Despres switched to the car category in 2015 and has his sights set on more success.

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