If there is a heavyweight at the Dakar Rally, it is without a doubt the KTM team. KTM has won every Dakar rally since 2001, giving them nine consecutive wins. (The 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled due to terrorist threats, and consequentially moved to South America.) With two of the top riders in the sport riding for KTM in 2011, the Austrian team could capture its 10th consecutive Dakar Rally championship.
KTM will have Marc Coma and Cyril Despres riding in the Dakar this year. Coma and Despress have brought KTM its last five championships, as Coma won in 2006 and 2009, and Despres won in 2005, 2007, and was the winner last year in 2010.
Despres and Coma, along with their co-riders Ruben Faria of Portugal and Juan Pedrero Garcia of Spain, will be riding the brand new KTM 450 Rally bike, which was specifically designed for the Dakar. The KTM 450 saw its first serious action at the Rally of Morocco, where Cyril Despres took home the race win.
But it won't be easy for KTM to win in 2011. Even with two of the most experienced and decorated riders in their corner, even with a bike that has been specifically designed for the rally, the Dakar is an unforgiving race that can leave anybody in its dust. With 500 mile days spread out over two weeks, riding through deserts, sand dunes, and mountains, Despres and Coma will have to be at the top of their game if they want to give KTM its 10th consecutive victory.
