David Casteu first winner of the Central Europe Rally

From KTM

Lake Balaton, HU - A moment supreme! It was a memorable day for David Casteu at the shores of Lake Balaton. All he had to do in the last stage was to keep an eye on his main (and only) rival Francisco Lopez to make sure victory was his.

And that's just what he did. It's David's first win in rally-raid, who's in his fourth season riding for KTM. He was drenched with champagne thanks to Alain Duclos and Francisco Lopez, when he came off the podium.

David Casteu
"This is a ‘moment supreme' for me. Finally! It's my first, but hopefully not last win. When I go to the next rally, I will not be the same person anymore because this victory gives my moral a big boost. The Central Europe Rally is a new kind of race, which we had to adapt to. Now we will have to see in which direction this race will develop."

Francisco Lopez
"It's my first podium for KTM and I'm very happy. Two years ago I couldn't dream this would happen to me. The bike was just perfect this week, and the team did a great job. It's still a long way to go before we will race in Chili with Dakar 2009, but I'm going for it."

Teammanager Hans Trunkenploz: With 17 KTM's within the first 20 in the overall classification, we score a maximum result. We all expected the 450's more upfront, but the 690 proved to be very competitive, also when the conditions were less favorable. It shows we're in the good direction. In Brasil (Dos Sertoes Rally, which starts June 17th) the whole team will start on the Rally Light. The option to choose from two set-up's will surely help us."

Results Day 7

Rank	Rider	Nation	Bike	Time
1	Jaroslav Katrinak	FRA	KTM	1.46.02
2	Francisco Lopez	CHL	KTM	1.48.07
3	David Casteu	FRA	KTM	1.49.37
4	Jordi Viladoms	ESP	KTM	1.51.39
5	Ruben Faria	PRT	HONDA	1.52.41
18	Cyril Despres	FRA	KTM	2.00.16

Overall Standings

Rank	Rider	Nation	Bike	Time
1	David Casteu	FRA	KTM	12.21.14
2	Francisco Lopez	CHL	KTM	12.24.12
3	Alain Duclos	FRA	KTM	12.40.53
5	Jose Manuel Pellicer	ESP	YAMAHA	12.42.34
4	Cyril Despres	FRA	KTM	12.44.04
6	Jordi Viladoms	ESP	KTM	12.49.11