KTM Rally Factory Racing Team set sights on Dakar 2018

The Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Racing team is entering the final stages of their preparations ahead of the 2018 Dakar Rally – the 40th edition of the event, which will be staged from January 6 to 20, 2018 in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. 

Competing on the all-new KTM 450 Rally, the official four-rider line-up of Sam Sunderland, Toby Price, Mathias Walkner and Antoine Meo are currently all busy training hard ahead of the gruelling annual event.

Following an intense year of racing, training and preparation, the Red Bull KTM team is now all but ready to begin their individual quests to claim KTM’s 17th consecutive Dakar bike class victory, and take on the challenge of the longest and toughest event on the cross-country rallies calendar.

Following two years of development and a rally win on its first competitive outing, the all-new KTM 450 Rally is also ready to face the challenge of the 2018 Dakar. Officially launched at the recent EICMA show in Milan, resplendent in its Red Bull livery, the bike boasts many performance improvements over last year’s model. A new engine and management system gives the riders more accurate throttle response, a new chassis and swingarm provides sharper handling and newly designed fuel tanks and bodywork ensure the bike feels slimmer and is more manoeuvrable.

Proudly displaying the number one plate on the new KTM 450 Rally, Sam Sunderland will return to the Dakar as defending champion. The British rider’s fight for the 2017 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship went right down to the final round where unfortunately he was forced to retire after picking up a small injury on the second day. Now fully fit and confident of a good result in South America, Sam will be fighting to repeat his success of 2017.