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In with the new guard?
NUMBER 2: KTM – Repsol RedBull
Marc Coma (ESP)
Marc Coma numbers among the group of promising drivers who, if fate smiles upon them, could well add their name to the Dakar Rally winners’ list. For since he started out in raid rally driving, the 29-year-old Spaniard has followed a trajectory that offers considerable cause for optimism.
His debut, in the 2002 Arras-Madrid-Dakar riding a dual-cylinder Suzuki 900, was most notable for a 7th place obtained in the 4th special. A few days later, he was forced to drop out of the rally, but the Catalan was back again in 2003, this time on the KTM team, producing a gutsy performance that testified to his tremendous mental strength: despite suffering a wrist fracture a few days before the finish, his experienced in endurance – see honours list – enabled him to hang on in there and clinch 11th place in the overall ranking. A model team player, he played a large part in the 2004 crowning of his friend and countryman Nani Roma, before a fall forced him to quit 5 days from the finish.
From one Dakar to the next, Marc Coma has enhanced his reputation. And after his display in the 2005 rally, when he finished second overall and pushed Cyril Despres hard right up until the last-but-one stage, he can no longer be regarded as still learning his trade. The winner of two World Cup rounds this season, Coma is now also free from the burden of having to share leadership of the team with Isidre Esteve Pujol, who recently signed for Gauloises. Supported by Sala, De Gavardo and Duran, Marc Coma has never been so well placed to challenge the favourite, Cyril Despres.
Marc Coma’s Dakar honours
2002 Abandoned Stage 9, Arras-Madrid-Dakar
2003 11th overall, Marseilles – Sharm El Sheik
2004 Abandoned Stage 14, Clermont-Ferrand - Dakar
2005 2nd overall, Barcelona – Dakar
Marc Coma (ESP)
Marc Coma numbers among the group of promising drivers who, if fate smiles upon them, could well add their name to the Dakar Rally winners’ list. For since he started out in raid rally driving, the 29-year-old Spaniard has followed a trajectory that offers considerable cause for optimism.
His debut, in the 2002 Arras-Madrid-Dakar riding a dual-cylinder Suzuki 900, was most notable for a 7th place obtained in the 4th special. A few days later, he was forced to drop out of the rally, but the Catalan was back again in 2003, this time on the KTM team, producing a gutsy performance that testified to his tremendous mental strength: despite suffering a wrist fracture a few days before the finish, his experienced in endurance – see honours list – enabled him to hang on in there and clinch 11th place in the overall ranking. A model team player, he played a large part in the 2004 crowning of his friend and countryman Nani Roma, before a fall forced him to quit 5 days from the finish.
From one Dakar to the next, Marc Coma has enhanced his reputation. And after his display in the 2005 rally, when he finished second overall and pushed Cyril Despres hard right up until the last-but-one stage, he can no longer be regarded as still learning his trade. The winner of two World Cup rounds this season, Coma is now also free from the burden of having to share leadership of the team with Isidre Esteve Pujol, who recently signed for Gauloises. Supported by Sala, De Gavardo and Duran, Marc Coma has never been so well placed to challenge the favourite, Cyril Despres.
Marc Coma’s Dakar honours
2002 Abandoned Stage 9, Arras-Madrid-Dakar
2003 11th overall, Marseilles – Sharm El Sheik
2004 Abandoned Stage 14, Clermont-Ferrand - Dakar
2005 2nd overall, Barcelona – Dakar