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KTM to pull out of Dakar race from
2010
Vienna - Austrian motorcycle maker KTM,
the dominating brand in the Dakar Rally, will pull out of the race
from 2010 because of rule changes, the Austrian press agency APA
reported Friday. The decision came after the rally's organizers had
said Thursday that only motorcycles with a maximum engine
capacity of 450 cc would be allowed to start for professional
competitors from 2010. KTM uses bigger engines.
The company said it had not received
any advance warning. "Every sport regulation needs changes and
adjustments to new
developments to retain an interest in it, but this also
require the appropriate lead times," KTM's motor sport advisor
Heinz Kinigadner said.
The motorcycle winner of this year's
rally, Spain's Marc Coma, drove a KTM, as did the winners in the seven
previous races. Around half of the Dakar motorcyclists rode KTM this
year, when the rally was organized in Latin America instead of North
Africa for the first time.
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