KTM Celebrates Fantastic Tenth Consecutive Dakar Rally Victory

KTM
on Saturday wrote another chapter in its history when the sports
motorcycle market leaders celebrated taking its tenth consecutive
Dakar Rally title. The race was won in heroic style by Marc Coma
closely followed by Cyril Despres, who between them have taken the
past six Dakar titles for the Austrian brand. The victory also
heralded an aggressive new era for KTM in rally sport, according to
company CEO Stefan Pierer.
The victory was also celebrated by the presence of Hubert
Trunkenpolz, Head of Sales and Marketing for KTM who traveled from
Sao Paolo Brazil, where the company has just opened its latest
international subsidiary, to be in Buenos Aires to greet the two
KTM riders. The 2011 Dakar, over 9500 grueling kilometers, was
thrilling from the first to the final stage as the two KTM heroes
battled it out for the top podium place. Coma and Despres have
dominated rally sport in recent years and there has rarely been two
riders who share such passion and skill when competing in the
world's toughest rally. The company's success was further
underlined by excellent performances by many other KTM riders who
successfully competed in the 33rd edition of the Dakar Rally.
Marc Coma: "Many sacrifices to get to here"
"Staying focused was essential so I did focus on my riding. It was
the only way to win. What was really tough was that I could not let
my guard down, not even for a second. When a tough stage was
ending, the next one was even tougher. We all know that a Dakar is
a difficult race but this year it was particularly difficult. This
victory is the reward of all the hard work, the reward of many
years and a lot of tensions over the last few days. It is the bonus
you get for steering right and for so many sacrifices over the
years."
Despres, a fight to the end
At the end of Stage 13 Cyril Despres, the consummate perfectionist
said he was sad he had not done better. "I made some mistakes, they
were two small mistakes but they held some heavy consequences," he
said. "This special is different if you are in first place as it
was the case last year... then you want the race to be shorter.
When you are second, you would want the race to be longer. But
anyway, the feeling of finishing a Dakar is always nice especially
here with all the people welcoming you. I am sad I could not do
better. I have raced 11 Dakar, won three and been on the podium
eight times. One more would have been great."
Following the tenth consecutive win for KTM, CEO Stefan Pierer
announced that the company now intends to use the Dakar Rally as
its major marketing platform as it enters a new and aggressive era
of involvement in rally sport, including the development of the KTM
450 Rally bike in a production model.
Stefan Pierer: "I am confident that this
new bike is going to add yet another layer of prestige to our
brand, following the unprecedented success we have enjoyed recently
with other models like the 350 SX-F and the all new 350 EXC-F
Factory. As well as developing the best rally bike on the market,
we plan to introduce new and interesting packages for both rally
teams and individual rally enthusiasts."
Mr. Pierer confirmed that KTM plans an aggressive
involvement in rally sport both with the company's factory teams
and with other riders and teams who are committed to the Austrian
brand. "We want to see teams and riders from as many countries as
possible competing on our bikes," he said. "Every KTM rider is a
KTM ambassador - whether our own factory team, riders of other
teams on KTMs and all the committed privateers who choose our
machines!"
Heinz
Kinigadner, KTM Sports Consultant, double 250 cc Motocross
World Champion and former Dakar racer said the company can be very
satisfied with the outstanding results achieved at the Dakar 2011.
"We are justifiably proud of our two KTM factory riders and we are
especially pleased with what they achieved on the newly launched
KTM 450 Rally Replica. This bike was developed to provide an answer
to the surprise rule change announced in mid 2009 that restricts
professional Dakar riders to bikes not exceeding 450 ccm. We rose
to the challenge and today it is clear that we have achieved our
goal. The results speak for themselves."
KTM congratulates all riders who were courageous enough to tackle
the Dakar, the rally that is at the very heart of this great
sport
Final Results Dakar Rally 2011 Motorcycles:
1. Marc Coma, Spanien, KTM
2. Cyril Despres, Frankreich, KTM +15:04 min.
3. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha +1:40:20 h
4. Chaleco Lopez, Chile, Aprilia +2:09:45
5. Juan Pedrero, Spanien, KTM +3:07:03
6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norwegen, KTM +3:32:56
7. Jean De Azevedo, Brasilien, KTM +3:59:38
8. Ruben Faria, Portugal, KTM +4:13:01
9. Quinn Cody, USA, Honda +4:52:10
10. Jacek Czachor, Polen, KTM +6:13:41
11. Henk Knuiman, Niederlande, KTM +6:26:46
12. Miran Stanovnik, Slowenien, KTM +6:31:49
Photos by Maragni M. KTM Images