SHIFTING SANDS
As Dakar turned its back on South America for the sands, horrendous social oppression, religious fanaticism and outstanding scenery of Saudi Arabia, you could almost sense a change in fortunes for the teams was in the air. Honda had suffered years of runner-up finishes, mechanical issues and epic crashes. Yamaha had poked its nose in from time to time but there was zero reason to suspect KTM would be anything but the front runners again. It would take some measure of fate to step in and slow Toby Price down. And fate arrived. Like a bastard, it arrived.
It doesn’t need to be said that this was a long time coming. Some have gotten close, but no other manufacturer has won Dakar since Fabrizio Meoni crossed the finish line in 2001 on his LC4 660R, thus starting an incredible and almost impossible run for KTM. To give some context, the guy that won in 2000 was the legendary Richard Sainct, and he did it on a BMW F 650 RR, but from 2001 KTM has taken the top step every year. This success has been driven in no small part by the amazing decade-long inter-team rivalry of Cyril Despres and Marc Coma.
“WE FINALLY DID IT! THIS VICTORY COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE BETTER FOR HONDA AND THE TEAM.”
Honda is no stranger to winning Dakar either; it’s just been a long time between Champagne sprays — 31 years to be exact. Nineteen-eighty-nine was the last in a run of four straight wins for Honda and that’s where
