After Kevin Benavides’ triumph last January, Red Bull KTM heads into the 2024 Dakar in a familiar position: for the first time since 2020, they’re aiming to defend the title. Saudi Arabia is once again the setting for this legendary event, part of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
The Austrian manufacturer will have two official riders: Kevin Benavides and Toby Price, the latter coming close to victory in the previous edition, missing out by less than a minute. Missing from the lineup is Matthias Walkner, who sustained serious injuries recently after crashing while training.
Team manager Andreas Hölzl assured that everything is set at KTM to tackle Dakar 2024: ‘We’re really looking forward to Dakar – the bikes are ready to go and from a technical point of view, we’re really well prepared. Toby is hugely motivated of course. He had a really strong 2023 season and is in good shape, well trained, and fully focused on Dakar. Kevin, although not quite 100 percent after his small crash, also has his sights set firmly on Dakar success. He’s confident and should be close to full fitness by the start of the race in January’.
Regarding Walkner, the manager stated: ‘He should be moved to Austria in the next couple of days for further surgery. It is, for sure, a painful injury that will require some time to heal properly. But the team are fully behind him and hope to see him back racing as soon as possible’.