The 2012 Dakar Rally rolled to a finish in Lima, Peru on January 15, with France's Cyril Despres taking his fourth Dakar title in the motorcycling category. The champions in each class were applauded on the podium on Lima's Plaza de Armas by a huge crowd who welcomed the arrival of the greatest rally raid in the world to the country's capital. All in all, 97 motorcycles, 12 quads, 78 cars and 60 trucks made it to the finishing line of the 33rd Dakar, which is just 249 of the 443 vehicles that started the rally in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, on New Year's Day.

Among them were four out of the five Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain riders, who reached the finish line in the Peruvian capital after covering 8,300 kilometres on a variety of roads, tracks and dunes since they started the rally in Mar del Plata over two weeks ago. This debut result is highly encouraging for the team and the Husqvarna brand, as the new bike proved its worthiness right away - completing the race without a major technical failure.

The highlights for the new team were six podium finishes and one stage victory. This was part of the initial objective that they had targeted for the 2012 Dakar. Daily stage results showed that the team was consistently fast with two riders regularly up front, even if the aim to get one rider on the overall podium couldn't be fulfilled this time.

The outstanding motivation of the team was tested with the jury decision against Paulo Goncalves, who received a six-hour time penalty after being accused by another rider of receiving outside assistance on Stage 8. The Portuguese rider, himself stopping and helping another competitor out of a mudhole in the same stage, denies this, but the jury trusted the accusations, effectively robbing the rider and the team of any hopes of a top result.

On a more positive note, the breakthrough rider of this year's Dakar came from Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain's Joan Barreda, who left his mark on the race with a stage win and eight specials in the top 5. Barreda was by many considered the revelation of this year's Dakar, consistently matching the speed of the top riders and is therefore regarded as one to watch in the future. Because he experienced bad luck during stages three and four (when the talented Spaniard suffered from a crash and a broken rear wheel, which cost him a lot of valuable time) he lost all chances of shining in the overall classification, but still finished in a more than respectable 11th place overall.

"Joan has the speed to run with the best riders in the race," says team principal Wolfgang Fischer. "His stage results definitely give proof of this and he would have deserved to stand on the overall podium. Paulo Goncalves was most likely a top five finisher in Lima, were it not for the incomprehensible jury decision."

Spaniard Jose Manuel Pellicer performed well as a late team addition, finishing 23^rd overall. He was always there when needed, such as helping Barreda out with his rear wheel problem on stage four. Pellicer was a last-minute replacement in the team, but he nevertheless integrated himself seamlessly and earned everybody's respect right away. Brazilian Zé Hélio rode a steady race to finish inside the top twenty. His final result shows the depth of the field, because each year the Dakar becomes more and more competitive, especially at the front.

The Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain would like to extend the very best wishes to Ike Klaumann, their fifth rider. The Brazilian is on his way to a full recovery, after having to quit the race following a crash.

Final standings

1. Cyril Despres (FRA) KTM 43:28:11 hrs; 2. Marc Coma (SPA) KTM, +53:20 min; 3. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha, +1:11:17; 4. Jordi Viladoms (SPA) KTM, +1:40:56; 5. Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM, +1:47:28; 11. Joan Barreda (SPA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, +3:37:25: 19. Zé Hélio (BRA) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, +6:16:35; 23. Jose Manuel Pellicer (SPA), Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, +7:41:09; 26. Paulo Goncalves (POR) Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, +8:10:26

Manufacturers/Team statistics, podium finishes

1. KTM, 27

2. Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, 6

3. Yamaha, 2

3. Sherco, 2

5. Aprilia, 1

5. Honda