3 AMERICANS in Motorcycle DAKAR 2009

3 Americans in Motorcycle present in 31 edition of Dakar 2009(Argentina - Chile)from January 3 to 18 in 14 Stage's(3 stages in Chile)

Jonah Street With KTM 690
Withdraw in stage 9
He won Stage 5
US rider Jonah Street (KTM) has won stage 5; it is the American’s first stage victory on the Dakar. He wins with a 7’34" lead over Chile’s Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez (KTM) , Jonah Street who was forced to withdraw due to a wrist injury in Stage 9.

Jonah Street :
« The Dakar isn’t won on pure speed»
He was one of the pleasant surprises of the 2006 Dakar. Jonah Street finished 17th after distinguishing himself with three top five stage results and it was his maiden participation on the world’s toughest rally. But the following year, the American’s state of grace was over. His engine broke on day four of the rally and his hopes of victory went up in a cloud of smoke. “I quickly understood that my 2007 Dakar ended right there. With Australian Mark Eland, who was in the same situation as I was, we built a fire to pass the time during the night.”
This failure hasn’t altered Jonah’s ambitions and he finished a strong 9th on the Dakar Series Central European Rally. “I want to do my best and finish the rally without too many mechanical problems. I must say that I will be disappointed if I don’t finish in the top ten. But anything can happen on the Dakar”. In any case, even though, “it is difficult to anticipate in the race”, and while he has “no idea what the terrain will be like”, in Argentina and Chile, Jonah has a “powerful and reliable” motorcycle that gives him reason to be ambitious.
This year again, the American has done a lot of testing. With special attention paid to navigation, his strongest asset on the rally. “During my first Dakar, I was very careful. Towards the end, I knew how to correctly navigate and ride fast. The rally isn’t won with pure speed but rather riding with your head. Navigation is the key to success.”

Steve Laroza with KTM 690
Withdraw in Stage 7
“I like the heat”A touch of emotion will surely penetrate Steve Laroza at a moment or another of the 2009 Dakar.
Two years ago, the American biker, one of the 10 representatives bearing the Star - Spangled Banner in Argentina and Chile, had sadly lost his South African friend Elmer Symons, victim of a fatal crash during the fourth stage. Steve Laroza had absolutely wanted to finish that Dakar, nice and easily (in an insignificant 93rd position) just to pay a tribute to his mate. This year, the Californian, member of the “Destination Dakar” team with Canada’s Donald Hatton, feels fine. “I’m in a far better physical condition than two years ago, I feel that I’m going to have fun”, he explains. Riding on sand doesn’t worry the forty-year-old who has been competing on the Desert Racing Series in the Nevada desert for several years. He who no longer knows “since when he was dreaming of doing the Dakar” and who jumped on a bike for the first time at the age of 5, impatiently awaits all the phases of the most demanding race in the world: “I know that the stages will be very fast and then a little more technical and it’ll be very hot in the last days. That’s fine, I like the heat”. Steven will probably be happy to reach the rest day even more than the others: “My wife and my two daughters will be following me throughout the rally. And I will meet them in Valparaiso where we’ve rented a house for the rest day. Their support will help me a lot”.

Thierry Mas
with KTM 525 XCW From Miami (Florida)
“All Miami knows that I’m doing the Dakar”Aix-en-Provence, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires. Here’s to sum up the itinerary of Thierry Mas from his birth to the start of the Dakar. Setting off from his native South of France to the United States when he was 22, he first settled in the Big Apple before making his suitcases to go to sunny Florida and Miami where Thierry is now a hair dresser. “All my clients know that I’m setting off to do the Dakar. And actually, all Miami knows it!” laughs the rider who has a double Franco-American nationality. Thierry Mas started riding bikes when he was 14 – “In Provence, there were a lot of places to train” – and the crossing of the Atlantic didn’t stop his passion for two wheels. On the opposite, in the United States he found a fabulous training ground, especially in the desert of Nevada where he improved his knowledge of navigation, or in California where he took part in the Baja 1000. “It’s probably the toughest type of race after the Dakar”, he says. “It’s a good training; you learn to ride during night time”. And that could happen again on the Dakar. “It’s not a problem, I have good lights”, he laughs. On the eve of his first Dakar, Thierry feels “in great shape”, but a bit “intimidated by the extent of the stages”. The man from Aix doesn’t want to place the bar too high. He set himself a triple objective: “To do my best, not to get lost and to stay on my bike”.