CAN KTM DEFEND
ITS DAKAR STREAK?
W
hile most of us were still nursing holiday
hangovers, the world’s best rally racers
were kicking off the first Dakar Rally to
take place in the Middle East. With the Dakar
making its debut in Saudi Arabia (where it will be
held for the next five years), all bets are off as to
who will dominate the sandy conditions of the
2020 rally to come out on top.Last year’s victor,
Toby Price says that the move to Saudi Arabia
has reset the Rally, “2020 is going to be a whole
different Dakar for us. It’s putting everyone back
on a level playing field, which I think is good for
the sport. It’s going to be a new race, a new look
and I’m really excited for the challenge,” he said.
Despite an admittedly quiet year, Price will still
enter the 2020 edition of the Dakar as a firm
favourite for line honours, as not only will he be
defending his 2019 title, he and his teammates
will also be looking to retain KTM’s unbroken 18
race win streak. “I spent the first part of the year
recovering but then was back on the bike for the
Atacama in September. My feeling on the bike
was good there, which was encouraging and I’ve
been getting steadily stronger ever since. Testing
has been good, as usual, the team has made
some important tweaks to the bike, primarily
with the suspension, so I’m really pleased about
that.” Often regarded as a dune specialist, Price’s
teammate Sam Sunderland goes into the 2020
Dakar as one of the favourites and while excited
for the upcoming challenge, is still mindful of the
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task ahead. “I’m confident going into this Dakar”,
he said. “You kind of judge your pace on how you
have been riding the previous year and winning
the world championship and coming third in the
Dakar earlier in the year has been a real boost
for me. Both the team and the bike have been
fantastic all year and I’m going into the race fit and
focused on doing my best. I’m looking forward
to the new challenge that awaits us too – it’s
going to be a new adventure for everybody and
I think that really sums up the spirit of the Dakar.
I like the fact that we are going somewhere new
and that everyone is going to have to adapt and
overcome all the new things that are thrown at us.”
Runner-up to Price at the 2019 Dakar, despite
carrying an injury through the majority of the
race, Matthias Walkner also needed surgery and
recovery time during the year. Building up his
speed over the final two rounds of the world
championship, the 2018 Dakar Champion has been
putting in many valuable hours of testing ahead of
the 2020 event. The 2020 Dakar Rally is the 42nd
running of the event since 1979 and is the first time
the rally has been held in the Arabian Peninsula.
Kicking into life on January 05, the Rally takes place
over 12 stages and 7500km, with up to 70% of
the 2020 route comprising of sandy conditions.
The final stage of the 2020 Dakar concludes
on January 17th in the newly built city
(because Saudi Arabia…) of Qiddiya.