''Faultless'' Coma enjoys Dakar success

Red Bull KTM factory rider Marc Coma coasted into Valparaiso, Chile, on Saturday afternoon to pick up his fourth individual Dakar title and to secure KTM’s thirteenth title in this most toughest of rallies. Factory teammate Jordi Viladoms made it a memorable day for the Austrian manufacturer by finishing second overall. It was perhaps Marc Coma’s finest victory in his Dakar career as he led the overall standings from Stage Five. He completed the thirteenth stage, near 9,000 km course in 54 hours 50.53, almost two hours ahead of second placed Viladoms. Having to lead from the front for more than half of the rally was also a tribute to Coma’s skills as a rider and tactician and is testament to his physical and mental strength. He completed the rally with three stage wins, four second-place finishes and three thirds. Coma described his Dakar experience as “an extreme and grueling Dakar” and dedicated the win to “my friend Kurt Caselli”. Caselli, part of the Red Bull KTM Factory team was killed in a race accident in November. “Without the right people behind me it would have been impossible to win,” Coma said. “We have worked very well throughout the race and also before. Last year I went through a very difficult situation not being able to compete because of injury and I came back to win the race. I think this says a lot about the people I have around me. I am very proud of this victory. What was key to winning the Dakar was not to make any mistakes.” Coma, who has been a KTM factory rider since 2003, first won in Africa in 2006. He then repeated his success in 2009 and 2011 after the Dakar was relocated to South America. He did not compete in 2013 because of injury. Understandably, going into the final stage with a massive lead, Coma took it easy in the final stage, finishing in eighteenth place. However the main focus for the factory team was whether Viladoms was going to be able to finish second.