Table of contents
HRC
30th pictures
Speedbrain
1/30
After the first three stages, Joan Barreda Bort already has two victories on the account and lets the Honda works team continue to dream of great success.
Majoli, tooth
2/30
German drivers at the 2014 Dakar Rally: Majoli and Zahn.
Peter Mayer
3/30
MOTORRAD editor Peter Mayer in the Parc Ferme of the Dakar 2014 in Rosario / Argentina.
Peter Mayer
4/30
Bivouac with a feel-good atmosphere: local recreation area with swimming lake and hotel on the Autodromo de San Rafael.
Pep Segales
5/30
Disc and road book remind of the collision: Joan Barreda tells MOTORRAD man Mayer (1st from right) about the collision with the cop.
Polo motorcycle
6/30
For the German Ingo Zahn, the Dakar came to a painful end during the second stage.
Peter Mayer
7/30
Unusual sense of community: military dormitory for the rally drivers on the marathon stage.
8/30
Short luck: Ingo Zahn crashed on the second stage – shoulder and three ribs are broken, the German was eliminated in the second stage.
Speedbrain
9/30
After the first three stages, Joan Barreda Bort already has two victories on the account and lets the Honda works team continue to dream of great success.
Yamaha
10/30
For a few minutes, the defending champion Cyril Despres reached the top of the overall standings during the fourth stage – then the Yamaha works rider was stopped by an electrical fault a few kilometers before the stage finish, lost almost half an hour to Joan Barreda Bort, who was still in the lead, and fell from second to sixth place.
Haudiquert
11/30
Have a good laugh: Sherco driver Alain Duclos (left), motorcycle man Mayer and team boss Nicolas Chaix (right).
12/30
The 2014 Dakar Rally – MOTORRAD editor Peter Mayer reports live.
Maragni / KTM
13/30
KTM factory rider Marc Coma celebrated his first stage win on the fifth day of the 2014 Dakar and took the overall lead.
Mayer
14/30
A village moves every day: the organizer’s logistics are an organizational masterpiece.
Mayer
15/30
A dewy complexion even after 486 kilometers: Laia Sanz – the Miss Miracle of off-road sport.
Sherco
16/30
With his victory after the sixth stage, Sherco driver Alain Duclos moved up from fifth to third place in the provisional overall standings.
Speedbrain / HRC
17/30
It can also look like this in South America: Joan Barreda-Bort, winner of the 7th stage, on the Speedbrain Honda in the countryside.
Pascal Haudiquert
18/30
This is what the Bolivian Mrs. Merkel looks like: a photo together with the Bolivian President Evo Morales and MOTORRAD editor Peter Mayer.
Mayer
19/30
The rally driver looks at it: 1st row (from above): Tripmaster 1 and compass, 2nd row: Roadbook, 3rd row: Tripmaster 2 with antennas, 4th row: GPS.
Mayer
20/30
Despite all the electronics: the road book is meticulously prepared every evening.
Speedbrain / HRC
21/30
In his race to catch up to the top, Honda driver Joan Barreda-Bort, who was in second place, received a 15-minute time penalty – he disregarded a speed limit.
Mayer
22/30
A new highlight every day: helicopter flight over the Atacama desert for MOTORRAD man Peter Mayer.
Mayer
23/30
Drive yourself, screw it yourself: the South African Brett Cummings lives the basic idea of rallying – and is currently in a respectable 30th place.
Mayer
24/30
Pit stop: Only what fits in a single steel box is allowed on the Dakar.
Yamaha
25/30
Olivier Pain (# 6) and Yamaha brand colleague Cyril Despres crossed the finish line in third and second after the 11th stage.
Mayer
26/30
All hands on board: the transport of journalists to El Salvador was carried out by the Chilean military.
Mayer
27/30
From the dream: Honda works driver Barreda is dragged into the paddock.
Mayer
28/30
New KTM from Marc Coma: engine from the motocross model, injection, carbon front, new frame, new deflection, new shock absorber.
Mayer
29/30
Viva el Dakar: The rally is enthusiastically adopted by tens of thousands at the finale in Valparaiso. MOTORRAD editor Mayer (in red) finally closes his Dakar diary.
KTM
30/30
In the end it was easily enough for Marc Coma and KTM to win.
Sports & scene
Interview HRC Team Principal Dakar Rally
Interview with the new HRC team manager
“Dream of winning the Dakar should become reality in 2015”
MOTORRAD editor Peter Mayer interviewed the new HRC team boss Wolfgang Fischer. His goal: winning the Dakar Rally next year.
Peter Mayer
04/23/2014
Wolfgang Fischer, 44, was appointed team manager of the Honda works team before the start of the World Rally Championship. At the first of six events for the 2014 Cross Country Rally World Championship, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the red troop with the Portuguese Paulo Goncalves won.
Congratulations for the win. After all, your team beat Dakar winner Marc Coma. How is the significance of this rally to be assessed compared to the Dakar?
Fischer: Thanks for the congratulations. Abu Dhabi is one of the desert classics and is extremely tough. Since 90 percent of the route leads through dunes and there is great heat, the engines are extremely stressed. KTM has won this race for the last twelve years in a row. Now we have interrupted this winning streak. That makes us proud.
Now about yourself. You were appointed team manager for the Honda factory rally team prior to this rally. What tasks does such a job include?
Fischer: First of all, a multinational team of around 20 has to be managed and coordinated. In addition, I have to control the preparation and technical development of the racing cars, plan and carry out the logistics. Engaging the racing drivers and supporting them in their training is part of this job. Tests have to be organized and every race has to be meticulously planned. As little as possible should be left to chance.
This task is not entirely new to you. After all, you’ve been running the Speedbrain team for years and even build your own rally machines in Stephanskirchen, Bavaria. Now give up this commitment?
Fischer: I’ve been doing works team management since BMW started off-roading in 2007. Since 2010 with my own rally team. Initially with BMW and Husqvarna support, later with our own Speedbrain vehicle development. We are of course very happy that we have made ourselves interesting for Honda’s rally project with this commitment. Personally, I am now 100 percent responsible for the Honda project. My two Speedbrain co-partners have been responsible for Speedbrain customer sports since January 1st, 2014. In this constellation, we were already at the 2014 Dakar with five drivers. That worked out very well and that is why the program will be continued.
Honda has announced that it will produce a replica of the Dakar machine as a Production Racer by May. How far has the project come??
Fischer: As a works team, we currently have nothing to do with the Production Racer. I think Honda will publish more information about this soon.
Honda did not succeed in winning the Dakar at the second attempt this year either. KTM acted very confidently, Helder Rodrigues, as the best Honda rider, only finished fifth. Which levers do you want to turn in order to bring the team to success??
Fischer: The second Dakar attempt for Honda with a completely newly developed bike was very close to being a great success. But rallying is extremely complex. You experience a complete racing season during the 14 days of Dakar, but without the time between the racing weekends to make any improvements. We were able to win five stages with Joan Barreda. To get the win, every facet has to be right. In order to minimize the luck factor and to have all eventualities under control as well as possible, you simply need preparation time. It is impossible to quickly catch up with the experience of the last decade of KTM hegemony in rallying. But we have a very steep learning curve, and that also affects our racing drivers. The last five Dakar winners took an average of six attempts to get to the top. In the end, constant and focused work pays off, for which we have now been rewarded with victory in Abu Dhabi. We will continue to work on making our dream of winning the 2015 Dakar a reality.
Related articles
-
Honda wins Dakar Rally 2020: Ricky Brabec wins in Saudi Arabia
Monster Energy Sports & scene Motorsport Honda wins Dakar Rally 2020: Ricky Brabec wins in Saudi Arabia Honda wins the Dakar rally Ricky Brabec wins in…
-
Interview with Dakar winner Ricky Brabec
Hullmann Sports & scene Motorsport Interview with Dakar winner Ricky Brabec Interview with Dakar winner Ricky Brabec The Dakar in Saudi Arabia was fairer…
-
Interview with world rally champion Matthias Walkner
Sports & scene Interview with world rally champion Matthias Walkner Interview with world rally champion Matthias Walkner “The Dakar is in a different…
-
KTM 450 Rally Factory 2022: Replicas of the Dakar bikes from KTM
KTM 7th pictures KTM 1/7 68.50 euros per cubic, resulting in 449.9 cubic displacement: 30,800 euros. This is how much the limited 450 Rally Factory from…
-
KTM Sports & scene Motorsport Dakar Rally 2019 Peru Dakar Rally 2019 Exclusively only in Peru For the first time in the history of the Dakar Rally, the…
-
Interview with Dakar winner Marc Coma
KTM Sports & scene Interview with Dakar winner Marc Coma Interview with Dakar winner Marc Coma “You have to protect the motorcyclists.” Marc Coma (39)…
-
Dakar Rally 2020: move to Saudi Arabia
Red Bull Sports & scene Motorsport Dakar Rally 2020: move to Saudi Arabia Dakar Rally 2020 Move to Saudi Arabia The Dakar rally raged through South…
-
Tacita T-Race Rally: electric enduro with Dakar ambitions
Tacita Sports & scene Motorsport Tacita T-Race Rally: electric enduro with Dakar ambitions Tacita T-Race Rally R Pro Electric enduro with Dakar ambitions…
-
On the trail of the old Dakar Rally in Morocco
shepherd to travel On the trail of the old Dakar Rally in Morocco On the trail of the old Dakar Rally in Morocco Call of the desert Give everything…
-
What moved the MOTORRAD editorial team in 111 years
archive Sports & scene What moved the MOTORRAD editorial team in 111 years What moved the MOTORRAD editorial team in 111 years You know what …? There…