Since the new regulations were introduced, KTM, with valuable input from Despres and Coma, has worked tirelessly on the new KTM 450 Rally bike, a project that has absorbed hundreds of hours of intense research, development and painstaking testing. So far the bike has only been out once in competition but with Despres at the handlebars, it took line honors in the Rally of Morocco in October. That was a positive signal but the Dakar is a long and exhausting race for both man and machine. For this edition organizers have also adjusted the regulations to make sure that riders have to depend on their ability to read and interpret their road books rather than relying on their electronic navigation systems and this adds another edge to the challenge. Despres and Coma warm up on a little fech-fech
On Thursday both Coma and Despres returned to an old warm-up haunt when they took their bikes back to a sand mine on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Here they were able to sharpen their skills in the dreaded "fech-fech" – the talc powder-like sand that can raise a blinding cloud, or deceptively cover potentially dangerous hidden obstacles. Coma, riding with Pedrero for the Red Bull/MRW/KTM team calls it "the perfect spot to train". "My strategy for this year will be the same as always: think only about my own race and avoid problems and accidents. This will be a very tough and very open rally, given the new bike regulations," he said. This year Coma is racing with the number 1 machine; Pedrero with the number 10 bike. Some 200 m away in the paddock will be the Red Bull KTM pit box for Despres and Faria. Signaling that the ever present rivalry between the two top riders is never far from the surface, Despres quipped: "They have their secrets and we have ours. I know Marc will come out strong as usual this year, but to me every Dakar will always mean another opportunity for victory." Despres is onboard the bike with the start number 2 and Faria sports number 11 on his KTM 450 Rally. While the Dakar is the most important competition for the top KTM riders it is also a huge occasion for the many other Orange aficionados, some who are fulfilling a lifetime ambition to compete with the world’s best. KTM comes to the Dakar Rally with a full service for its many competing customers and wishes all of the riders a thrilling, competitive and above all, injury free Dakar Rally 2011.
