After the amazing 1st-2nd-3rd podium in Lima and the 1st-2nd podium in Abu Dhabi, the KTM rally team is again READY TO RACE – this time by taking the road less travelled, diving into the unknown. “I am intrigued by the unknown,” says the team manager Jordi Viladoms, “which is good, but we still might be troubled by some questions.”
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.
The Rally du Maroc concluded the five-round FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price won the event to be crowned the 2018 champion.
KTM Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides is 23 years old. Joining the rally squad, the Argentinian had no previous experience in the notoriously difficult rally races, but he had the speed, the will and the right kind of personality for the job. Heading towards his second Dakar, which will take place next January, the KTM-ace is optimistic on what he can achieve.
In November 2016 the Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing Team opened its doors and gave a few journalists a rare chance to test the KTM 450 RALLY machines …
As the most demanding rally race in the annual calendar the Dakar Rally requires serious navigational skills, with racers having to find their way through thousands of miles of rugged offroad terrain. The principles of rally navigation are simple – the course is marked on a roll of paper called the roadbook and there are checkpoints and un-manned waypoints that riders must cross.
Joining the Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing Team prior to the 2015 Dakar Rally, the 27-year-old Brit has experienced lots of ups and downs in his quest to establish himself among the international elite of rally racers. From winning individual Dakar stages and topping the podium in multi-stage events to being forced to miss the 2016 Dakar due to injury, Sam has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions during the past few years.
Following his illustrious 10-year Dakar career, Jordi Viladoms hung up his racing boots at the beginning of 2016 to take on a key role within KTM’s rally team. Becoming the Sport Manager the Spaniard has been busy putting his vast experience to good use with the goal of guiding KTM’s official riders on their quest for more winning glory.
Living within an hour’s drive of KTM’s headquarters, Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing Team’s Matthias Walkner is Austria’s next big thing in international rally competition. A member of the KTM family for more than a decade, the 30-year-old rider from Salzburg enters his third Dakar Rally knowing he has what it takes to battle for the top.
