Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Marc Coma, who hails from AviÀ in Spain, sealed his fifth Dakar Rally title on Saturday and with it brought home KTM’s fourteenth consecutive win at one of the most notorious races in the world.
While Paolo Goncalves took second place, KTM racer and Dakar rookie Toby Price took an outstanding podium third at his first attempt in an incredibly challenging Dakar race, which took place over 14 days and a route of approximately 9,000km through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Coma had a 17-minute lead into the final of 13 stages, although the race was halted on safety grounds due to rain at CP2 and Coma declared the winner.
Coma: “I’m happy and proud. As usual it was a grueling rally. We had to overcome a problem on the second day that slowed us down a bit in the rankings. So from then on we had to change the strategy a little and push to recover that time. We knew that the marathons would be key stages and they were. I am happy with the team and the people we have around us. This fifth win says a lot about all of us. The level was very high and this also makes the win very valuable.”
The Dakar 2015 was indeed a battle of attrition. Of the 168 starters in the bikes division only 78 were on the starting line for the final run into Buenos Aires.
Final Standings Dakar 2015 after 13 stages:
1. Marc Coma (ESP), KTM, 46:03.49 h
2. Paolo Goncalves (POR), Honda, +16.53 min
3. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, +23.14
4. Pablo Qunitanilla (CHI), KTM, +38.38
5. Stefan Svitko (SVK), KTM, +44.17
Other KTM
6. Ruben Faria (POR), KTM, +1:57.50
7. David Casteu (FRA), KTM, +2:00.14
8. Ivan Jakes (SVK), KTM, +2:18.18
11. Hans Vogels (NDL), KTM, +3:31.50
14. Paolo Ceci (ITA), KTM, +4:58.14
18. Jakub Przygonski (POL), KTM, +6:21.12
