“It has been an amazing Dakar for me. I still can’t believe that I managed to do it in the end. The rally has gone really well, even when I didn’t quite get the results I was hoping for, I kept my head down and concentrated on the finish, not just each individual stage. Good navigation and staying focused won the rally for me – that and the backing of my team who have been there the whole way with me. It’s nice to be able to reward them with this win. After my injury of 2016, to be able to stand here as a Dakar Champion is a dream come true.”
On the 20th of January, Matthias Walkner became the first Austrian to win the bike category of the Dakar Rally, arguably the toughest rally raid event in the world, bringing home the 17th consecutive triumph for the Austrian marque KTM. With a steady performance throughout the race, the 31-year-old managed to finish the final stage in Cordoba, Argentina in eighth place giving him an overall victory with a lead time of 16 minutes and 53 seconds. We caught up with Walkner to get his thoughts on his recent win.
As an Austrian how does it feel to bring the 1st place back home for the 17th KTM win?
“It feels really, really great and it’s an amazing feeling because since 2004 I was a test rider for KTM and I think I have met more or less 50% of the people who work in the factory. We’ve celebrated at the Christmas party together, we celebrated the MX3 World Championship title together, and so I have a really good relationship with the company. In the past, I was testing a lot for them and I spent every week in the company, so to give them something back for the hard work feels really great.”
Going into the Dakar what is the key elements you focus on after the physical preparation is done?
“The key for me was with the preparation I now have for the Dakar to every day give my best. This is the main thing I can do, and the other things aren’t in my hands. I made a good preparation – this I know – and then I did the best day by day. There are a lot of guys that can win, and only one guy can take the title, so all I can do is the best from my side.”
Do you tweak every detail of the bike or are you more adaptive when it comes to using the factory KTM?
“I prefer to test every detail and work on each small part, as I have been used to this from my time as a test rider with KTM. I like a lot of testing around and then to try new things.”
What sets the KTM team apart for you from other factory teams?
“The difference is that KTM is really like a family and everybody knows what he has to do at the Dakar. Everyone is working really well together, and the mechanics know what we need and what we want. This is the key for such a long race.”
Walkner’s factory KTM is a liquid cooled single cylinder four stroke with a displacement of 449.3 cc’s. The electric start engine features four valves with an overhead cam run by rocker arms. The engine is managed by a Keihin Engine Management System with EFI. A 6-speed transmission delivers power with a final drive of 14:48 while an Akrapovic exhaust system rounds out the performance.
The frame is the classic Chromium Molybdenum trellis steel design KTM is famous for with the subframe being a self-supporting fuel tank design. Fully fueled the capacity is approximately 31 liters giving the Ready To Race flagship a weight of 138kg’s. Pair this with Walkner’s own 85kg’s and the power to weight ratio is impressive.
A set of WP-USD 52 forks and a WP Monoshock gives 300mm’s of suspension travel for the front and rear. Stopping power is supplied by Brembo calipers with a single front of 300mm and a 240mm disc in the rear. The 21” front and 18” rear wheels running Michelin’s Desert Race tire. Coincidently it’s the French brand’s 35th win since 1983 at the Dakar Rally.
How do you approach stages where no team support is allowed?
“On the marathon stage you have to try and take less risks and not do anything crazy. But in the end, it’s only five percent less than perhaps you would normally do in the stoney and difficult sections. Sure, you need to consider saving the tyre, but in the end, I’m not really changing my riding style in the marathon stages.”
Tell us about the scary moment with local traffic on the first day. Did it change your focus?
“The first day with the truck there was a really, really scary moment, and I don’t think I’ve had luck like this on the road. My knee was on the barrier of the highway and my right elbow was on the truck, so I was really close to having a bad crash. It’s nice to win a stage, but in the end, the job was to win the Dakar, so my focus was on this.”
Let’s talk about Sam Sunderland’s crash in the dunes on day 4?
“For Sam it was bad because he was really good in the race and really fast. It looked like he was the man to beat or fight for the win, but it changed so quickly. Then with Barreda he had a big crash and lost 20 minutes from the front with the navigation, Van Beveren crashed, and this is like the Dakar. There are so many long days, it’s such a hard race, and everything can change so quickly. I’m really happy to have stayed on the top. Luckily Sam’s injury isn’t that bad, but he was in good shape with a great speed. If he didn’t have the crash it’s hard to say, but I think it would have been difficult to beat him.”
Was there a point in the last stage where you thought “this is it, I’m going to win”?
“On the last stage, the last 10kms is where I thought I can now win it. If I have some small bike problems we can fix it because I was riding together with Quintanilla, thankfully he waited for me to save the win. It was just an amazing feeling – the dream came true. I was really not thinking I could win it, perhaps another podium, but to win… yea… is really cool. The next rally is the World Championship in Abu Dhabi in one month. There is not so much time to rest and celebrate, but I try to enjoy the time now and get ready for the next race. The focus for sure was on the Dakar, not so much on the world series, but now I try to do again the best and we look to Dakar 2019.”
Matthias Walkner will be competing in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from the 24th to the 29th of March in the United Arab Emirates. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the results.
All Images Copyright KTM / DAKAR
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