DIRT NEWS
BETA AND JONNY WALKER UNITED FOR THE HARD ENDURO
A fter splitting from his long partnership with KTM , Jonny Walker has been announced as the headline rider for the Beta hard enduro team . Jonny Walker has confirmed in recent years that he ’ s one of the top riders in the sport , winning in extreme competitions including the Erzbergrodeo , SuperEnduro World Championship and Romaniacs Hard Enduro . The English rider will take on the newly minted FIM Hard Enduro World Championship ( formerly the World Enduro Super Series ) and SuperEnduro
World Championship riding the Beta RR 300 2-stroke supported by Beta Factory Racing , facing the most exciting and demanding competitions of the international Offroad system . “ Beta is extremely happy to support Jonny , he is definitely a very professional and strong worldclass rider ”, said the Factory Beta Team Manager , Fabrizio Dini , “ We are thrilled to work with him because we know he is serious and professional about his business and the great results that will surely follow ”.
DAKAR LEGEND PASSES AWAY AGED 68
M ultiple Dakar winner and the first racer to win the gruelling event on both two and four wheels , Hubert Auriol , passed away on January 10 after a long battle with heart disease . The charismatic Frenchman ( although he was actually born in Ethiopia ) was a rightful legend of the Dakar , first tasting victory in 1981 on BMW ’ s R80G / S before following it up in 1983 to give BMW its second of four victories . After an incident in the penultimate day of the 1987 Rally in which he broke both his ankles , Auriol switched to four wheels eventually taking his third
and final Dakar victory with Citroen in 1992 . Despite retiring from racing after a runner-up finish in 1994 , Auriol stayed with the Dakar as race director from 1995 through to the 2004 edition and remained a tireless champion of the motorcycle racers within the organisation and in the media . With the Dakar Rally moving to South America , in 2008 Auriol helped found the Africa Eco Race which aims to be the spiritual successor to the original Paris-Dakar . Hubert Auriol is survived by his wife and three daughters .
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