Off-Road Observations: 1
MotoOnline's weekly enduro and desert feature, presented by Yamaha's WR450F.
January is a massive month for off-road fans, namely because of the Dakar Rally and immense coverage it attracts globally. Put simply, this is the race to win if you’re to be forever remembered as one of the greats. Of course, I’m not comparing it to regular enduro racing or anything of that kind, but for the true desert racers, this is the race.
It’s fitting then that Australia’s desert king Ben Grabham is on track this year with HSE Motorex KTM Desert Racing. Following his injuries in 2012, Grabbo’s preparation has been less than perfect, but he is no doubt a major name in Australian motorcycling to tackle the Dakar – especially with the full support of KTM Australia.
Ben Grabham and the HSE Motorex KTM Desert Racing team are taking on Dakar for the first time.
But it’s not just Ben that you’ll have to keep an eye on, because we as a country have an all-star cast doing battle there in South America this year. In fact, Matt Fish has switched to the Monster Energy-backed Husqvarna team and stunned with a podium in Stage 2.
Fish has international experience and was actually the guy to fill in at KTM for Grabham as their lead rider at the Australasian Safari last year, plus he won the Indee 500 last July. Now, Fish is on a Husqvarna TE449RR by Speedbrain and he seems like he’s adapted quickly.
Yamaha has Rod Faggotter in the Dakar once again this year and after three days, he’s the top ranked Aussie in the early stages, 20th after three stages. If you want more on Faggotter, his crew actually has a dedicated Facebook Page (click here to check it out).
Rod Faggotter is contesting the Dakar for the second year with Yamaha.
Honda has Todd Smith and also Warren Strange at Dakar, but surprisingly not current Australasian Safari champion Jake Smith. Still, it’s a very solid assault as Todd won the Safari in 2011 and Strange finished runner-up this year.
Troy O’Connor, Simon Pavey and Andrew Scott complete the eight-rider Australian line-up. It’s great to see and indicates the strength of off-road and desert racing within Australia at this point.
It’s an 8000 kilometre journey over 14 days throughout the month, so there’s a long way to go and we look forward to covering it day in, day out along the way. What a way to enter the new year for these guys!
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