KTM Rally Team tackles first Central Europe Rally

From KTM

Hungary - The KTM Rally Team are about to launch an attack on the first ever "Dakar Series" Central Europe Rally which sweeps almost 2700 km through Hungary and Romania starting in Budapest on April 19 and finishing at Hungary's Lake Balaton on April 26, 2008 Organizers had planned to stage the first Dakar Series in 2009 but the last minute cancellation of the Dakar Classic in January 2008 for security reasons prompted them to accelerate plans for the Central Europe Rally. The event goes some of the way towards reversing the disappointment of professional teams and amateurs who were denied the chance to test themselves in the Dakar.

The rally is in seven stages with 1092 km of special stages and 1579 km of road sections starting in Budapest before sweeping east for a loop into northern Romania before returning to Hungary to finish at what is one of Europe' biggest lakes. Organizers had planned to hold more of the rally distance in Romania but recent bad weather including heavy snow, forced significant changes to the course.

KTM Rally Team manager Hans Trunkenpolz underlined that the organizers had already achieved much in the extremely short preparation period. He said the KTM Factory Rally Team, including riders of the caliber of Dakar winners Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, were committed to delivering a solid performance in the new event.