Photo: KTM
Sad news for both KTM and Dakar fans: Spaniard Marc Coma will not be riding in the South American Dakar 2013 rally. The official announcement has been made hours ago by KTM Team Managers Alex Doringer and Coma.
A 3-times Dakar winner, Marc Coma suffered a shoulder injury in the Morocco Rally earlier this year and his recovery is not yet complete. Shoulder muscles are still causing problems and insufficient movement, making riding such a tough off-road race both very hard and dangerous.
KTM has been forced to replace Coma with the American rider Kurt Caselli, but Coma's team mate Cyril Despres (4 Dakar wins) is now the only favorite for the win. Caselli will be riding Coma's KTM 450 Rally but it's very unlikely that he will be able to put up a fight in the same terms the Spaniol rider could.
However, this also leaves room for other Dakar 2013 riders to shine, and hopefully we're going to see a fierce race this year, too.
KTM has been forced to replace Coma with the American rider Kurt Caselli, but Coma's team mate Cyril Despres (4 Dakar wins) is now the only favorite for the win. Caselli will be riding Coma's KTM 450 Rally but it's very unlikely that he will be able to put up a fight in the same terms the Spaniol rider could.
However, this also leaves room for other Dakar 2013 riders to shine, and hopefully we're going to see a fierce race this year, too.
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