Kilometer after kilometer the concentration, the energy, the navigation, the physicality and all while keeping the throttle absolutely twisted. Desert dunes, to rocky mountains, the Dakar Rally is a battle of endurance for both rider and machine.
The Dakar Rally is one of the most notoriously difficult races on the planet. With the 2021 event just weeks away, we caught up with KTM Rally Team manager Jordi Viladoms to get an insight into Dakar, what’s new for 2021 and the team’s goals.
The recent lockdown has meant some quiet but busy days for the staff at the KTM Motohall. Work inside the stunning complex has not stopped so here are some key reasons to plan a visit and details of a fantastic competition for those that make it to Mattighofen before the end of June.
As the dust settles on the 2020 Dakar Rally, which marked a new chapter for the event at a new location in Saudi Arabia, we at the KTM Blog have been taking a look through the breath-taking images from this year’s race.
After more than 1,685 kilometres of riding, 1,346 kilometres of timed special stages, Sam Sunderland brought his KTM 450 RALLY home as runner-up at the recent Atacama Rally. More importantly, the British rider had earned himself enough points to claim the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship – his first ever world title.
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.”
With the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the first KTM Ultimate Race checked off and the big news about the Dakar Rally moving to Saudi Arabia, we wanted to elaborate on the moment’s hot topic.
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?
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.
