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 Despres
and Coma 2-3 in Dakar Series "Pax Rally" in Portugal
The second in the new Dakar Series rallies concluded on Sunday in Portugal with KTM factory riders Cyril Despres and Marc Coma taking second and third place in an event that finally went to local rider Ruben Faria. Following the introduction of the Dakar Series in the form of the Central European Rally earlier in the year, in part a consequence of the last minute cancellation of the classic Dakar race last January, riders were anxious to test their mettle in the atmosphere of the Portuguese countryside. The course, which took riders from Lisbon north to Castelo Branco, then south over - Samora Correia and Alochete to the finish in Portimao in the south of the country - was also a chance for riders to sharpen their skills ahead of the first Dakar to be held in South America in January 2009. The results perhaps reflected that local conditions and knowledge may have favoured home country riders but Despres said organizers had done a good job, even if it was not really possible to recreate the wide open spaces of Africa and South America in Europe. "That means one of the key elements of rally-raid, navigation, did not come into play," the Frenchman said. He proposed that in future events that navigation zones, like the present speed control zones, may be an additional interesting feature of similar events. Despres, who with Coma had been shadowing the Portuguese leader throughout the race, said he realized going into the last stage that it was his last chance to get close to the leader, even if Faria was firmly on home ground. "I could see straight away that there was no way I was going to be able to get close to the Portuguese rider on his "little" 450. With so many twists and turns my brakes began to fade so in the end I decided to back off and preserve my second place." The Frenchman said although he would have preferred to win, he was nevertheless satisfied with his performance. "The bike performed well, I didn't make any mistakes and I rode to the best of my abilities," he said. He, Coma and other top KTM riders will now tackle the UAE Desert Challenge next month where their bigger bikes will be more at home with the conditions and terrain. The Desert Challenge is a final to hone skills before the big epic "Dakar" to be staged in South America in January. Results 1. Ruben Faria, Portugal, Honda 2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM 3. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM 4. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Honda 5. Paulo, Goncalves, Portugal, Honda 6. David Casteu, Fance, KTM
KTM factory rider and leader of the Rally dos Sertoes in Brazil for the first half of the 10 stages was deprived of final glory after a mix up with time cards on the penultimate stage, which resulted in him being penalized by five minutes. The very experienced Frenchman, who has ridden in more than 35 rally raids and is recognized as one of the world's elite in rally sport, had ridden his usual highly professional race across a large section of the massive landmass of Brazil. After the ninth stage he calculated that he had a good chance of catching local hero Jose Helio who held a slight advantage going into the final short run into Natal on the north eastern corner of the country. But the penultimate stage was shortened by 40 km due to an impassible water crossing and Despres, faced with confusion at what he thought was the end of the day's special, mistakenly handed in his time card and continued on to the bivouac. Unable to then hand the card to the race director, he was penalized five minutes, making it an impossible task to overtake the Brazilian on the final stage. Deeply disappointed Despres, second in the final results and with other KTM factory riders David Casteu and Marc Coma in third and fourth place, was understandably distressed and disappointed at the outcome of what had been a challenging and interesting rally. Set an impossible task "Although I rode the last special as hard as I possibly could and made up the original time deficit, it was impossible to pull back the five minute penalty over such a short distance," Despres said after the race. "I am sure you can imagine how I felt as I arrived at the finish podium in Natal. Up until the previous evening I had really enjoyed the race and the battle I had on the piste with the other riders. For me that is where a race should be decided." Results 1. Jose Helio, Brazil, Honda 2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM 3. David Casteu, France, KTM 4. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM 5. Ruben Fana, Honda, Portugal
A ‘moment supreme'! It was a memorable day for David Casteu at the shores of Lake Balaton. All he had to do in the last stage was to keep an eye on his main (and only) rival Francisco Lopez to make sure victory was his. And that's just what he did. It's David's first win in rally-raid, who's in his fourth season riding for KTM. He was drenched with champagne thanks to Alain Duclos and Francisco Lopez, when he came off the podium. David Casteu "This is a ‘moment supreme' for me. Finally! It's my first, but hopefully not last win. When I go to the next rally, I will not be the same person anymore because this victory gives my moral a big boost. The Central Europe Rally is a new kind of race, which we had to adapt to. Now we will have to see in which direction this race will develop." Francisco Lopez "It's my first podium for KTM and I'm very happy. Two years ago I couldn't dream this would happen to me. The bike was just perfect this week, and the team did a great job. It's still a long way to go before we will race in Chili with Dakar 2009, but I'm going for it." Alain Duclos was on and off the podium in the general ranking the last few days, but in the end he secured his 3rd place in the last stage. Alain Duclos "Finally, after all these years of hard work and suffering, I'm on the podium. Thanks to Toni Togo who never stopped believing in me. I rode a consistent race which paid off in the end." Cyril Despres was unlucky today, he went down to 5th place overall due to a fuel problem. "Preparing for Chili was the main goal. I'm content about the bike. We tried to push hard to see how the Rally light would manage the different short stages. Now it's a matter of details, but for the rest the bike is good. It's too soon yet to talk about the future of this race, I think its important ASO listens to what the different riders have to say about this first edition. Jordi Viladoms (6th overall) "This week was a good experience, it was good for my confidence on the bike. A different kind of rally though, which suits me less than the races in the desert. We all know A.S.O. organized this rally in a very short time, so I'm sure it wasn't easy for them." Teammanager Hans Trunkenploz: With 17 KTM's within the first 20 in the overall classification, we score a maximum result. We all expected the 450's more upfront, but the 690 proved to be very competitive, also when the conditions were less favorable. It shows we're in the good direction. In Brasil (Dos Sertoes Rally, which starts June 17th) the whole team will start on the Rally Light. The option to choose from two set-up's will surely help us." Results Day 7 Rank Rider Nation Bike Time 1 Jaroslav Katrinak FRA KTM 1.46.02 2 Francisco Lopez CHL KTM 1.48.07 3 David Casteu FRA KTM 1.49.37 4 Jordi Viladoms ESP KTM 1.51.39 5 Ruben Faria PRT HONDA 1.52.41 18 Cyril Despres FRA KTM 2.00.16 Overall Standings 1 David Casteu FRA KTM 12.21.14 2 Francisco Lopez CHL KTM 12.24.12 3 Alain Duclos FRA KTM 12.40.53 5 Jose Manuel Pellicer ESP YAMAHA 12.42.34 4 Cyril Despres FRA KTM 12.44.04 6 Jordi Viladoms ESP KTM 12.49.11 Congratulations to Brit Richard Kaye #40 for a finishing in the top third of a World class entry - Reports
With a positive eye on the mighty Dakar Rally, the first event of the 2008 rally season, KTM and its factory riders are preparing to tackle the challenge of retaining their stranglehold on the events that make up the entire rally season. "The competition is getting tougher and our rivals are hungrier than ever and want a piece of the action, so it is going to be a tough season," said KTM's rally boss Hans Trunkenpolz. "Nevertheless we have a great line-up of riders including the most successful and the most experienced, so we will be doing everything we can to retain the edge in 2008. I believe we are gong into the rally season with the most KTM complete KTM team ever." Trunkenpolz emphasised that all KTM factory riders receive the same level of support and encouragement and he underlined that he believed all were capable of top ten finishes. "Of course with Marc (Coma) and Cyril (Despres) we have two riders who are among the most successful and experienced in both riding and navigating. They will be natural rivals and it will probably be a matter of tactics that decides which one of them comes out on top," Trunkenpolz added. If rally is the essence of adventure and endurance for both man and machine, the Dakar is the one that sorts the men from the boys. The classic event begins in Lisbon, Portugal on January 5 in Lisbon and finishes 15 days later in Saint-Louis, Dakar after a gruelling 9273 km. KTM has firmly established the brand and its factory riders as the dominant force in the Dakar over the past seven years, a reputation that they will work hard to preserve in 2008. Nevertheless, Hans Trunkenpolz predicts that the 800km through Morocco will be one of the most challenging stretches and that the Dakar Rally in 2008 will be extremely hard. Every rally on the international calendar, but particularly the Dakar, demands the best from rider and motorcycle. It is about winning on a great bike and defeating the elements as well as the opposition. KTM views it as the ultimate test for their machines because they are pitted against all that nature can throw at them by way of extreme climatic conditions and challenging terrain. KTM factory riders will again be putting the KTM 690 Rally machine through its paces in what goes beyond the sport and into the realm of a unique living laboratory. The lessons learnt in the desert and over other tough terrain provide the company with vital data for constant. KTM will field six top riders for the 2008 season in four teams. But behind the riders and the team structure is the entire network of expertise, dedication and passion for orange success that comes out of the Mattighofen factory of the world leader in sports motorcycles. KTM is and will always be "Ready to Race" technological improvement and development. The result is a direct benefit to the passionate hobby rider as well as the sport's professionals.
FIM World Champion KTM's Marc Coma has ridden his KTM 690 machine to a triumphant victory in the UAE Desert Challenge Rally, defeating fellow KTM riders Cyril Despres and Pal Ullevalseter for the top spot on of the podium. The event, which serves as the final test in the desert sands before the notorious Dakar Rally in January was therefore a clean sweep of the podiums for the Austrian-made KTM machines. "The race wasn't easy," the Spanish specialist said." It was good to have a close fight between me, Cyril and Pal. I just started out to try to catch Cyril today and when I was in front I had to concentrate because one mistake would spoil everything." Coma knows what he is talking about. In January 2007 he had amassed an impressive lead in the Dakar and seemed certain to take the title going into the second last day but instead had to concede to Despres and return home with an injured shoulder. Despres, a four times winner of the Desert Challenge said he hadn't come "looking for second place". It had been his first desert ride since last year and he immediately leaves for Baja Mexico to compete in another legendary tough race, the Baja 1000. Nevertheless Despres made Coma work for the honour of top podium place in this year's UAE Desert Challenge. He had honed the overall margin between himself and the Spaniard down to a mere 1 minute 28 seconds on the penultimate day and set the scene for the race to go down to the wire. Despres, first out on Friday was then faced with the task of laying down the track in the soft desert sand while Coma could follow in his tracks and wait for the right opportunity. The Spaniard eventually crossed the finish line with a margin of five minutes six seconds. Former world champion Ullevalseter of Norway said he had been very happy with the performance of his KTM. "This was a successful test for me," he said. In all, KTM riders stole no less than seven of the top ten places, underlining the dominance of the offroad machines from the Austrian factory in what is surely some of the most testing terrain in the world of motor sport. Not so fortunate was KTM's Jordi Viladoms, a close rival of the front runners who took a fall on the second race day and had to retire from the race. KTM Rally Team Boss Hans Trunkenpolz confirmed that medical examinations revealed bruising but no serious injury and said he was sure it raised no questions about Viladoms being fit and ready for the Dakar race. Trunkenpolz said he was very satisfied with the results of the Desert Challenge which showed the KTM factory rider line-up was in very good shape ahead of the Dakar. "The bikes went well, "he said. "Apart from Viladoms crash on the second race day we had no problems at all from start to finish." The FTM factory rally team also took advantage of the spectacular desert scenery to carry out the official team photo shooting ahead of the Dakar 2008, the defining event in this discipline of motor sport. Results 1 Marc Coma KTM 2 Cyril Despres KTM 3 Pal Anders Ullevalseter KTM 4 James West Honda 5 Francisco Lopez KTM 6 Jean Azevedo KTM 7 Michael Angerer KTM 8 Steve Blackney Honda 9 Ruben Faria KTM 10 Sebastian Husseini Suzuki Final World Standings 1 Marc Coma KTM 125 2 Pal Anders Ullevalseter KTM 82 3 David Casteu KTM 66 4 Matteo Graziani KTM 54 5 Cyril Despres KTM 47 6 Marek Dabrowski KTM 47 7 Jordi Viladoms KTM 42 8 Jose Manuel Pellicer KTM 36 9 Marcel Butuza KTM 34 10 Jean Azevedo KTM 29 11 Jaime Prohens KTM 27 12 Justin Carter KTM 22 13 Gerard Farres KTM 20 14 Davide Volpe KTM 19 15 Jackson Feuback KTM 18
KTM factory rider Marc Coma on Sunday secured victory in the twenty first edition of the Sardinia Rally, which, after also winning the recent Tunisian Rally puts him in an excellent position to defend his world championship title. The win in the second round of the championships on board his KTM 525 EXC machine is an excellent confidence booster for Coma. In January, the 31-year-old Spaniard of the KTM Repsol Red Bull Team looked certain to snatch the top podium spot for the legendary Dakar Rally when he crashed in the final stages and was forced to retire. Fellow KTM rider David Casteu of France was second in Sardinia. The five stage rally took riders across the length and breadth of the picturesque Mediterranean island and Coma finished in true championship style, clinching eventual victory only in the final stage. The Spaniard was second after the first stage, fourth after stage two, won stage three to top the general classification, slipped to second again in stage four and then charged home on the last day to win both the final stage and the overall title. Coma, who has been riding professionally since 1993, is the current world champion. He won the Dakar in 2006 and the Sardinia Rally in 2005 and 2006. He also has victories to his credit on African and South American soil. Results 1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM, 11.12’50”65 2. David Casteu, France, KTM 11.15’17”84 3. Jose Manuel Pellicer, Spain, KTM 11.16’00”84 4. Matteo Graziani, Italy, KTM 11.18’15”26 5. Francisco Lopez Contardo, Chile, Honda 11.27’23“21 Tuareg Rallye Details Rueben Welch's 2006 report KTM prepares for the ultimate Adventure - Dakar Rally 2007
There can be perhaps no better confirmation of KTM’s status as the world’s leading producer of offroad machines than a quick look at the starting list for Dakar 2007 — the ultimate rally and the ultimate adventure. Of the 250 motorcycles competing in 2007, 128 riders will be on the hallmark orange machines made in Austria. Orange will therefore be the dominant colour for offroad machines on the starting line of the motor sports classic when it leaves Lisbon on January 6, 2007. Competitors will cross Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal in a gruelling adventure that puts man and machine against some of the toughest elements that nature can deliver. This is a race of endurance, bravery, determination and meticulous planning. It is perhaps also the ultimate test for the new KTM 690 Rally machine, a product that has been developed in cooperation with the company’s Rally Department. The new machine has already delivered good results in recent international rallies and will be ridden by all KTM Factory Team riders in the Dakar 2007. KTM has dominated the start- and the finish lines of the Dakar classic in recent years to underline their superiority in the offroad sector. But as overall team manager Hans Trunkenpolz points out, it took patience and endurance to wait until orange emerged as the winning colour in the motorcycle division. “We needed five years before we experienced our first Dakar victory," Trunkenpolz said. “We were close a number of times with second places but for various reasons it wasn’t until 2001 that we won and then it was a five-fold victory.“ From that point on the story of the Dakar race has gone hand-in-hand with the success of the Austrian company, which is now the second largest producer of motorcycles in Europe. KTM’s three factory teams (Gauloises, Repsol and Red Bull) include eight factory riders supported by 43 team members, including a doctor and two physiotherapists. Two of the world’s leading rally riders Marc Coma and Cyril Despres are both top favourites riding orange machines. Coma, in the Repsol team, won the 2006 rally after Despres, the winner in 2005 who rides for Gauloises, dislocated his collarbone and had to settle for second place. KTM riders therefore face a particular challenge in 2007 — to live up to the 9 of 10 top places in last year’s race. This year it is safety first for every KTM factory rider who will all wear the new neck brace protection developed for KTM by South African doctor Chris Leatt and already tested in other international rallies by top KTM riders. But when the riders start their motors on January 6, they are merely continuing the task that commenced months before as a massive exercise in logistics. KTM not only services its factory teams but also supplies customer package support for an army of other private riders on KTM machines. Accompanying the race for KTM will be five Rally Nissans, two T4 Racing Trucks and four T5 Assistance Trucks. They are in effect complete workshops on wheels ready to supply mechanical, safety and any personal assistance in circumstances. KTM transports between 36-38 tons of equipment for the race, including some two tons of selected spare parts and equipment air freighted to cover the contingency of the late arrival of a support vehicle, or if one is disabled during the event. When riders cross the finish line of the 2007 Dakar they will have travelled 8,696 km through some of the most rugged terrain in the world. There is no better testing ground for the new KTM 690 Rally machine in the hands of the most talented riders on the planet, and the experience gained, as always, will directly translate into even better KTM offroad motorcycles in the future. KTM Factory Team riders for Dakar 2007 Gauloises KTM Repsol KTM Red Bull KTM
Marc Coma Wins Repsol KTM rider Marc Coma has won the 9th Total Pharaons International Rally which ended in Cairo on Monday 9th October 2006. Team mate Jordi Viladoms was forced to retire due to mechanical problems despite running in a secure second overall position. Carlo De Gavardo (KTM above) was forced to withdraw after he fell heavily on the penultimate day. The Chilean, third on the overall ranking this morning, has been evacuated by the medical staff with a broken left leg. Standings Overall 1. M.Coma KTM 9:12:00 2. P.Ullevalseter KTM + 45:48 3. J.Azevedo KTM + 1:24:00 4. D.Casteu KTM + 1:38:23 5. F.Lopez Honda + 03:11:07 The Shamrock Rally 7/11/2005 David Frétigné (Yamaha WR450F - Yamaha Moto France Ipone) confirmed his ambitions for the legendary Dakar rally raid by claiming his fourth consecutive win in the Shamrock rally, that took place in the Marroccan Sahara from the 28th of October to the 6th of November. After his season competing in national and international enduro races, 'the Shamrock' marked Frétigné's traditional switch to rally-raid. The likeable Frenchman quickly adapted to the terrain and his bike. Frétigné, 35, took five day wins at the eighth edition of the Shamrock and added his fourth overall victory to his already impressive tally. David showed great speed in both fast and technical stages, making the best of his past experience in Marocco. However the main goal of the race was to let Frétigné and his team get used to his new WR450F and prepare for the Dakar. The 28th edition of the Dakar rally will take place from the 31st of December to the 15th of January 2006. After the rally had already started in France and Spain, it will this time take off from Lisbon, Portugal to end nearly 10,000 kilometres later at the coast of Dakar, Sénegal. In only his second Dakar participation this year David Frétigné finished fifth overall. He was the only rider to have won three specials in 2005 and he repeated his 450 class win of last year. David Frétigné (Yamaha WR450F - Yamaha Moto France Ipone) - overall winner "Above all I have used the Shamrock to prepare for Dakar. It's nice that I have won with an advance of more than 2 hours over the second, but for more it's even more important to know that we have done our homework for the Dakar. I have concentrated on getting the right setting for my suspension over the past week and everything turned out great. Apart from that we did the usual stuff with a new bike: adjusting pedals and handlebars, learning to work with the new GPS and so on. We have not touched the engine, but even under demanding situations the WR450F engine behaved brilliantly. In general the bike gave me even more confidence than before, and we will keep the bike as it is for the Dakar. The next step in my preparation is to rest and perfect my physical shape till the end of November, after that I will start studying the maps to get my mind set for the 2006 Dakar. I will also have the bike with me to continue to ride and practice my navigation." FINAL STANDINGS SHAMROCK RALLY 2005 1. David Frétigné (Yamaha), 2. Thierry Bethys (Honda), 3. Christophe Meillat (Honda), 4. Olivier Cubaynes (Yamaha), 5. Patrick Moreno (Suzuki), 6. André Lenoble (Suzuki), 7. Christophe Rougeot (Yamaha), 8. Philippe Pennarun (Yamaha), 9. Jean-Michel Redal (Polaris), 10. Eric Beaudoin (Kawasaki) ESTEVE WINS ORPI MAROC 2005 5th stage AGADIR - AGADIR liaison : 27 km - special : 218 km - liaison : 45 km - liaison : 65 km On two wheels, Isidre Esteve (KTM LC4) easily won his second victory in two years at this Moroccan event, and his teammate Marc Coma grabbed the 2nd place in the nick of time. The young Catalan rider finally got ahead of David Casteu (KTM LC4), who had a nasty fall but is all the same particularly happy and moved that his first attempt as an official team rider should lead him to a third place on the Rallye ORPI Maroc’s podium. Fourth is Carlo De Gavardo (KTM) who wins in the 450cc category. The Chilean is ahead of the Spaniard Jose Manuel Pellicer (KTM 660), first in the marathon class. For the quads the final duel between Jean-Philippe Caillet (Bombardier) and Christophe Declerck (Yamaha) didn’t last for long. Caillet had a heavy fall in a wadi halfway through the special and fractured his collarbone before bravely riding on to the finish, leaving Declerck to once again grab the first place of the Rallye ORPI Maroc. The Frenchman ends in front of the Portuguese Ricardo Santos (Yamaha) and Caillet. (Source: www.npo.fr) Result stage 1 COMA Marc KTM SP +450 02h56’47 00h00’00 00h00’00 2 ESTEVE PUJOL Isidre KTM SP +450 03h09’19 00h12’32 00h00’00 3 DE GAVARDO Carlo KTM SP 450 03h10’08 00h13’21 00h00’00 4 CASTEU David KTM SP +450 03h12’20 00h15’33 00h00’00 5 GRAZIANI Matteo KTM PR 450 03h21’01 00h24’14 00h00’00 6 PELLICER Jose manuel KTM M +450 03h23’13 00h26’26 00h00’00 7 MEILLAT Christophe HONDA SP 450 03h28’18 00h31’31 00h00’00 8 SOLER Pau KTM PR +450 03h36’12 00h39’25 00h00’00 9 CARILLON Patrice KTM M +450 03h37’26 00h40’39 00h00’00 10 CAVELIUS Philippe KTM PR 450 03h43’00 00h46’13 00h00’00 11 POLLI Oscar KTM M 450 03h45’00 00h48’13 00h00’00 Final overall standing after 5 stages 1 ESTEVE PUJOL Isidre KTM SP +450 17h17’08 00h00’00 00h00’00 2 COMA Marc KTM SP +450 17h53’51 00h36’43 00h15’00 3 CASTEU David KTM SP +450 18h05’42 00h48’34 00h00’00 4 DE GAVARDO Carlo KTM SP 450 18h10’22 00h53’14 00h15’00 5 PELLICER Jose manuel KTM M +450 18h58’57 01h41’49 00h00’00 6 GRAZIANI Matteo KTM PR 450 19h05’35 01h48’27 00h00’00 7 MEILLAT Christophe HONDA SP 450 20h24’31 03h07’23 00h00’00 8 CARILLON Patrice KTM M +450 20h59’38 03h42’30 00h02’00 9 POLLI Oscar KTM M 450 21h14’34 03h57’26 00h00’00 10 GADIOUX Francis YAMAHA SP 450 22h07’17 04h50’09 00h00’00 11 JOBARD Willy KTM M +450 22h58’05 05h40’57 00h00’00 12 SOLER Pau KTM PR +450 23h06’27 05h49’19 00h00’00 13 CAVELIUS Philippe KTM PR 450 23h11’07 05h53’59 00h04’00 14 BETTINI Alessandro HONDA PR +450 23h39’13 06h22’05 00h36’00 15 HAMARD Stephane KTM M 450 23h48’37 06h31’29 00h15’00 PJM - A
Winter's Tale
Report by Bob
Mullins Rally of Discovery Cornwall 22/24th Sept
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Cyril
Despres deprived of victory in Brazil after mix-up with time card
David
Casteu first winner of the Central Europe Rally
KTM
fit for 2008 Rally Season
Coma
conquers the 2007 UAE Desert in final test ahead of Dakar Rally
Sardinian
soil safe in Coma’s hands
9th
Total Pharaons International Rally