Photo: Red Bull
It’s only been a couple of days since KTM factory rider Marc Coma won his 5th Dakar Rally, achieving his second consecutive victory in this gruel competition and it looks like our previsions of seeing him adding a 6th win are going down the drain. The Spanish sports magazine Marca published a story which says that Coma has anything but signed his all-new contract with Toyota, and is planning to tackle the 2016 Dakar from behind the steering wheel of a factory team car.
According to the mentioned source, this move is not exactly last-minute news, as the Spaniard has reportedly been envisaging switching over to cars for quite some time now. In fact if you pay attention to the presentation video Red Bull made with Marc Coma, he actually says that moving over to the cars class is one thing he is really considering, following the example of his former team mate and 5-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres.
Two years ago Despres put an end to his contract with KTM and in 2014 he rode a Yamaha bike, but without the success he was used to. For the 2015 edition, Despres joined the ranks of the Peugeot factory team, becoming the third driver of the team who also starred Dakar legend Stephane Peterhansel (6 wins in the Bike class and 5 wins in the Car class).
Mini would agree to have Marc Coma aboard but with a smaller salary, to compensate for the risk. “This is difficult when dealing with highly paid pilots,” Quandt admits, adding that the future may still being an agreement, as Coma will have proven his qualities in the Toyota team.
Apparently, Coma’s decision in favor of Toyota had everything to do with Jordi Duran, his former team boss at KTM, now working for the Belgian outfit Overdrive which runs the Toyota four-wheelers. The team would also benefit from the ties Coma has with Red Bull personally.
The Austrian manufacturer still has excellent prospects of lining up a solid team in 2016, with Sam Sunderland, (currently injured), Toby Price, the Australian rookie on the third step of the 2015 podium, Matthias Walkner and more. It looks like generations are changing once more in the bike section of the Dakar, but dynamism means evolution, right?
Two years ago Despres put an end to his contract with KTM and in 2014 he rode a Yamaha bike, but without the success he was used to. For the 2015 edition, Despres joined the ranks of the Peugeot factory team, becoming the third driver of the team who also starred Dakar legend Stephane Peterhansel (6 wins in the Bike class and 5 wins in the Car class).
Mini wanted Coma, but…
A rider who won the Dakar Rally 5 times is a man with a huge experience, and the team managers know this. Team Mini X-Raid “desperately” wanted a new member with Coma’s experience, but it was not to be. Sven Quandt, Mini X-Raid boss spoke about the matter openly. He said that as far as the Cars category goes, there are high chances that riders end their first Dakar as drivers with a crash.Mini would agree to have Marc Coma aboard but with a smaller salary, to compensate for the risk. “This is difficult when dealing with highly paid pilots,” Quandt admits, adding that the future may still being an agreement, as Coma will have proven his qualities in the Toyota team.
Apparently, Coma’s decision in favor of Toyota had everything to do with Jordi Duran, his former team boss at KTM, now working for the Belgian outfit Overdrive which runs the Toyota four-wheelers. The team would also benefit from the ties Coma has with Red Bull personally.
KTM has to build a new team quickly
Marca says that KTM is fine with the prospective of losing Marc Coma, despite the fact that he is by far the best rider of the moment. Unfortunately, Mattighofen also lost another big name, Chilean Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez, who decided it was high time he called it quits with bikes, because of injuries. Lopez is also said to be back in Dakar with Toyota, though not in the factory team.The Austrian manufacturer still has excellent prospects of lining up a solid team in 2016, with Sam Sunderland, (currently injured), Toby Price, the Australian rookie on the third step of the 2015 podium, Matthias Walkner and more. It looks like generations are changing once more in the bike section of the Dakar, but dynamism means evolution, right?
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