Photos and text courtesy of KTM Motorcycles.

Motorcycle rally sport has become one of the greatest challenges for man and machine, combining sport and adventure, riding through spectacular sceneries on remote deserts, experiencing sand storms, suffering the scorching heat during the day and the chilling cold during the night, sleeping in tents and working in the sand with basic equipment.

Endurance and good navigation are as important as
good riding skills.  It's not the fastest rider that wins, it's the one with the most all-around skills and support team who will take the victory.

KTM is going for the Dakar 2006 with full speed and no surprises.  The best rally pilots of the world will race for KTM again.  The rally season starts in mid winter with the Dakar, the mother of all rallies, and is followed by a World Championship series consisting of eight rallies throughout the year.

The KTM Factory team varies from 6 to 8 riders throughout the season.  On the Dakar the maximum amount of riders will be present, eleven pilots in four different teams. The mechanical and logistical base is in Mattighofen, but from the start the teams will race independently with their own structure and fight against each other.

The preparations for the rally season 2006 were under the cloud of the accidents of Richard Sainct and Fabrizio Meoni, which caused a discussion if KTM should quit all efforts in rally sports. 

Since motorcycle rallying, and the great adventure are an inherent part of the KTM story, we have decided to continue with professional rally sports engagement.  Together with the presenters of the Dakar a safety plan was finalized which should make the races safer again.