KTM Rally Team tackles first Central Europe Rally
By TMX Archives on 17th Apr 08
The KTM Rally Team are about to launch an attack on the first ever "Dakar Series" Central Europe Rally which sweeps almost 2700 km through Hungary and Romania starting in Budapest on April 19 and finishing at Hungary's Lake Balaton on April 26, 2008
Organizers had planned to stage the first Dakar Series in 2009 but the lastminute cancellation of the Dakar Classic in January 2008 for security reasonsprompted them to accelerate plans for the Central Europe Rally. The event goessome of the way towards reversing the disappointment of professional teams andamateurs who were denied the chance to test themselves in the Dakar.
Seven Stages and two countries
The rally is in seven stages with 1092 km of special stages and 1579 km ofroad sections starting in Budapest before sweeping east for a loop into northernRomania before returning to Hungary to finish at what is one of Europe' biggestlakes. Organizers had planned to hold more of the rally distance in Romania butrecent bad weather including heavy snow, forced significant changes to thecourse.
KTM Rally Team manager Hans Trunkenpolz underlined that the organizers hadalready achieved much in the extremely short preparation period. He said the KTMFactory Rally Team, including riders of the caliber of Dakar winners Marc Comaand Cyril Despres, were committed to delivering a solid performance in the newevent.
Interview with Hans Trunkenpolz, KTM Rally Team Manager
What is the initial situation with this new event?
The stages are significantly shorter than those in Africa for which our RallyReplica bike was developed, so the full tank capacity will not be needed. Ourtop riders will also not be called upon to test their full physical endurance onthese shorter stages so the sprinters among the rally and Enduro riders willhave a good chance to be on the podium.
Also, the terrain, which apparently includes lots of narrow tracks and curvesmeans we will not be able to take advantage of the speed and the power of ourrally bikes. Riders on bikes with less displacement will have the advantagehere.
What does this mean for the KTM Rally Team?
Our Rally Team will tackle these new challenges on our Rally bike. They won'tbe switching over to a lighter type of offroad bike from our offroad program. Weare confident that the world's best rally riders in the KTM Rally Team will beable to fight for victory even under unusual conditions. KTM is putting CyrilDespres and Marc Coma on a prototype RALLY LIGHT bike, which with its reducedtank capacity, narrower cladding and a somewhat modified geometry should suitthese new conditions.
What should we understand by the term "Rally Light Version"?
For a long time now we have been thinking of developing a module for theRally Replica that would allow it to be converted to better suit rallies withshorter distances between refueling stops. The cancellation of the Dakar andthis short term confrontation with very different conditions has brought thisdevelopment forward. We've immediately put it into practice so we do not loseour competitive edge. According to the KTM philosophy, if this RALLY LIGHT kitthat is being tested by the factory team comes out positively then any RallyReplica owner will be able to buy it. One important advantage of this newdevelopment is that a rider can vary his machine between standard and lightduring the rally. If the day calls for relatively easy reach then he can use thelight version; if there are longer distances between refueling stops then he canuse the standard version. This should ensure that KTM continues to be thedominant brand in rally sport. When this kit will be availab le depends on whatmodifications we have to make after the Central Europe Rally, but it should beon the market in time for the planned Dakar replacement rally in January 2009.
Hans Trunkenpolz concluded by saying the Central Europe Rally will be of avery high standard. "It's going to be tight all the way but we will very muchmiss the special challenges of the long stretches in Africa," he said.