It was the end of May and the Iron Giant wasn’t in the mood. On a freezing, stormy day, 1800 riders gathered at his feet to try their luck. Among them, 34 fun and fearless women in muddy boots were waiting for the Iron Road Prologue to start. The toughest girl in motorsport was feeling like a rookie again. As a Dakarian, she knows only too well the thrill of the unknown, yet nothing compares to the Erzbergrodeo.
It was 11am, April 4, when Luciano Benavides, still a junior, rode into the Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Rally Team’s paddock at Yas Marina Circuit as runner-up of the 29th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. A big smile appeared on his face when he took off his helmet. It was the take off the 23-year old Argentinian had been waiting impatiently for quite some time. “In this race I discovered the new me,” he said. The magic can’t be truly explained, but we can at least try.
With the first KTM Ultimate Race just around the corner, we had a chat with Marc Coma, the great warrior of the African and South American Dakars. We discussed about the mysteries of the rally raid and the irresistible attraction of the Dakar.
KTM has announced the twelve riders who will be given a fully supported KTM 790 ADVENTURE R in order to compete in a unique event within the 2019 Merzouga Rally – The KTM Ultimate Race.
The Dakar Rally is a massive operation, therefore it requires more working hands and ingenious minds than any other cross-country rally of the season. This year, the team backing up the Red Bull KTM Factory Riders included 33 members, achieving a historical result under the command of new team leader, Jordi Viladoms. We talked to five of those who joined the orange family only for Dakar.
The Dakar Rally is a massive operation, therefore it requires more working hands and ingenious minds than any other cross-country rally of the season. This year, the team backing up the Red Bull KTM Factory Riders included 33 members, achieving a historical result under the command of new team leader, Jordi Viladoms. We talked to five of those who joined the orange family only for Dakar.
Sam Sunderland talks openly about how tough the 2019 Dakar proved to be with extreme highs and lows arriving with each stage of the infamous rally.
We caught up with KTM´s Dakar 1-2-3 finishers and asked them about their after-Dakar life. Is it paradise?
2019 Dakar Rally Winner and 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion! The last three months have seen Toby Price reaffirm himself as the world’s number one rally racer. And in unquestionably impressive style. Battling his way through the world’s toughest cross-country rally with a broken wrist, with the full support of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Price earned his second Dakar victory having overcome injury and 10 brutal days of racing in Peru.
As the KTM Factory Racing Team battled their way through the 2019 Dakar Rally in Peru all eyes were unquestionably focused on the job in hand – that of overcoming the event’s many and varied challenges. But Dakar is an otherworldly undertaking, one that requires a full 12 months of preparation.
