Cyril Despres (BIKES): “I do not like to finish a race to at second or third position. This is my second win in two appearances in Argentina this year, I am very happy. I will remember the days in the jungle, where I fell over once during all of 2011. I never thought that victory could escape me, not even when I tore my rear tire. I am very happy.”

Orlando Terranova (AUTOS): “We were very lucky to win. The logical candidate to the victory was Nani (Roma), but he had a problem with his gearbox and we enjoyed it. Paulo (co-driver) was very happy because this was his first international race. It is a good start of season. Winning is a nice feeling.”

Sergio Lafuente (QUADS 4X2): “This is a double joy to win both the stage and the competition. Yesterday I was a little sad because the quad has not worked well but now we smile again. I liked this last stage because there was many closed curves. The quad was very responsive, it vibrated a bit yesterday because the mechanic went to try it and he had a little accident. His nickname is Ken Block. I am new on this sport, it is only my second year, I am very happy.”

Daniel Mazzucco (QUADS 4×4): “I expected a harder race, but It was still very nice. Everything went well, from the six pilots who accompanied me, all arrived. Today’s special was a sort of rally, it was fun. The competition had a good level, with good drivers and good teams. The best remember I have of this Desafio Litoral is the mud, it was very fun. I want to dedicate my victory to Fucheta Andrés, a friend who has a serious problem, this triumph is for him.”

Omar Yoma (UTV): “I am very happy to have won. The race offered everything that I expected, so I really enjoyed. It was very hard but fortunately we were able to get a good result. Desafio Litoral brought me a lot of experience; we went through beautiful places, in the middle of the jungle, but also over sandy tracks.”

Statements of the Dakar Challenge’s winners

Jeremías Israel (BIKES): “This is a very nice surprise to have won this award. Reach the end of this competition was not easy; that’s why I want to thank all my team and my sponsors. The yesterday’s first 100 kilometers of stage was very hard, I drove very fast, trying to catch up Paco (Mauricio Gómez), but when I arrived at the CP1, my rear wheel was completely destroyed. As I have not much experience, I was worried and I thought I could not finish. This is why I drove slower and I lost the fourth position. I arrived today at the middle of a dust cloud and I said, “relax, I’m close to the end, I will finish.”I’m very happy.”

Francisco Bartucci (QUADS): “The stage was very fast. Honestly, I knew I was in good condition to win the race, but I did not have chance over the two stages where I broke, and I lost a lot of time. But when all goes well, I am confident in the fight for victory. Winning the Dakar Challenge makes me happy, we must now do some adjustments to get a more reliable quad, and make better times.”

Roberto Recalde (Autos): “We are very excited. Our objective was to win the Dakar Challenge, and we succeeded. Our car was solid. My co-driver and I had no experience in rally cross and navigation system, but we still manage to keep up with the paste of the more experience drivers”