WHO RIDES IN THE KTM FACTORY TEAM IN THE 2013 DAKAR?

Cyril Despres (winner of four Dakar trophies)
Start No. 1
Team: KTM Rally Factory Team
Team Livery: KTM Red Bull
Rides: KTM 450 Rally Factory bike
Support Rider: Ruben Faria of Portugal is Despres’ ‘water carrier’

Cyril Despres was 13 when he acquired his first 80 cc bike. He rode trials for 10 years then started to get interested in rallies. After an enormous effort to raise the funds, for his first Dakar campaign Despres made his maiden appearance in 2000, finishing 16th overall and second in his category. He was on the podium in third place in his next event, the Tunisian Rally. In 2001 he finished twelfth in the Dakar, scoring his first stage victory. In 2003, he won three specials and finished second. He also won the Rally World Championship. In January 2005, he scored his first outright victory in the Dakar on a factory KTM. “That day will remain engraved in my memory forever,” he said: “Winning the toughest race in the world and going up onto the podium surrounded by the Senegal crowd – Wow, what a great feeling.”

Despres took his second Dakar victory in 2007. He won his second Rally-Raid World Championship in 2009 and went on to win his third Dakar in 2010 and took his fourth title in 2012. This year Despres reduced his race program to concentrate on preparation for the Dakar but contested and won the Desafio Litoral in Argentina and the Rallye du Maroc. In 2012 he again competes with his regular ‘water carrier’ support rider Ruben Faria of Portugal.

Marc Coma (winner of three Dakar trophies)
Start No. 2
Team: KTM Rally Factory Team
Sponsors: KTM AMV
Rides: KTM 450 Rally Factory bike
Support Rider: Juan Pedrero of Spain is Coma’s ‘water carrier’

Marc Coma, a native of Barcelona, Spain, first won the Dakar Rally in 2006 in Africa and in 2009 and 2011 repeated the success in South America. Coma, whose father contested the Spanish MX champions and an uncle who was a big fan, was introduced to motorcycles at an early age. He went on to race motocross at regional, provincial and national level before moving to Enduro. He won the Junior Spanish Championship in 1995 on a KTM 250 cc and went on to do well in Enduro, also at international level before committing to professional rally competition.

Coma first contested the Dakar Rally in 2002 when he rode a CSV motorcycle but had to retire with mechanical problems while in the top 20 of the field. He joined KTM as part of the Repsol team for the Dakar in 2003. He finished in third in four stages and established himself as a serious contender. The rest, as they say, is history. In 2012 Coma also won the FIM Cross Country World Championship taking the title after three of the four rallies, including dominant victories in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the Sealine Rally Qatar. His third placed podium at the Sardinia Rally was enough to give him the World Championship Cross Country title in 2012. He is recognized for his skill and determination and an unflinching will to win that has driven him to the forefront of his sport.

Ruben Faria
Start No. 11
Team: KTM Rally Factory Team
Sponsor: KTM Red Bull
Rides: KTM 450 Rally Factory bike

Ruben Faria of Portugal has been a strong support for Red Bull KTM’s 4 x Dakar winner Cyril Despres and finished in twelfth place overall. He finished eighth in 2011 and in 2010 was eleventh with one stage victory. He rode in 2007, scored one stage victory but had to withdraw in stage eight. In 2006 he finished 35th and also had one stage victory. Born in 1974 in Olhão, Portugal, Ruben first raced in the Portuguese Championship in Piscainho in 1982. He first rode a KTM machine, a KTM LC4 620 in 1995 and is passionate about racing the mighty Dakar.

Juan Pedrero
Start No. 12
Team: KTM Rally Factory Team
Sponsor: KTM MRW
Rides: KTM 450 Rally Factory bike
Support rider for Marc Coma

Spaniard Juan Pedrero García competed in the Dakar 2011 Rally as the “water carrier” for eventual winner Marc Coma in the Team MRW Red Bull and he finished a very creditable fifth place overall. This was a marked improvement on his 10th finish the previous year. Pedrero has been racing since the age of 14 and much of his career on the competitive track has been in Enduro competition, which 3 x times Dakar winner Coma will attest is excellent preparation for rally racing. Pedrero first competed on a KTM machine in 2008 and also has a second place in the Baja Aragón to his credit. In the Dakar 2012 he was forced to retire in Stage 11. Pedrero was eleventh in the Morocco Rally 2012 and ninth in Sardinia.