Which brand of motorcycle will participate in Dakar Rally 2023 ?
What kind of motorbike are eligible to take part in Dakar Rally ?
In fact, in the long history of Dakar, a lot of models have participated in the motorcycle race, including Vespa, a small pedal that seems to be delicate. With the passage of time and the development of society, the competition rules of Dakar keep pace with the times, and the competition is becoming more and more difficult. The core technical requirement of the motorcycle group for the vehicle is to use a four-stroke single-cylinder engine with a displacement of no more than 450cc
2.Vehicle selection standard
The bikers participating in Dakar can be divided into two categories. One is the professional bikers hired by the factory team formed by the car manufacturer. They must drive the car provided by the car manufacturer. On the other hand, it is also the case of most bikers. It is the individual bikers of non-factory teams who have the right to choose their cars freely. Therefore, as long as they can meet the following four conditions at the same time, they are likely to appear in Dakar:
3.Meet the rules of the game
4.Can be purchased from the open market
5.There is sufficient supply of spare parts and modified parts
6.There is mature maintenance support force.
In the 2023 Dakar Rally, 125 motorcyclists entered for the race, a slight decrease from 144 in 2022, but still higher than 108 in 2021
KTM
It can be seen from the data that KTM continues to take the lead in the number of entries this year. More than half of the bikers selected KTM's 450 Rally racing cars to compete, including 3 professional bikers from KTM factory teams, and the rest 64 individual bikers who bought or rented KTM racing cars to compete..
Yamaha
In addition to the three major brands of KTM Group, Honda of Japan, Heroes of India, Sherco of France and Kaiyue of China also participated in the team set up in the name of the car factory. Although there will be four Yamaha racing cars on the track in 2023, Yamaha has officially announced to withdraw from all rally events after the Dakar race in 2022. The bikers of the Yamaha factory team are also scattered. In 2023, four individual bikers will continue to drive Yamaha racing cars.
Honda
Honda successfully ended the dominance of KTM in 2020 and 2021. Although it only won the second place in Dakar in 2022, the overall strength of Honda's bikers is still very strong. Honda firmly occupied four seats in the top six of the 2022 total scoreboard, and these four bikers will continue to represent Honda in the 2023 Dakar. Therefore, although there are only 9 Honda cars competing, they are not much more expensive, and Honda is definitely the hot team to win the championship in 2023 Dakar.
Hero
Hero motorcycles from India have been competing in teams since 2017, but the bikers of Hero Factory have always been Portuguese bikers. The most impressive thing about this team is that during Dakar in 2020, Portuguese biker Paul Gonsalves was injured and died. In the 2022 race, Paul's brother-in-law, Joaquim Rodriguez, inherited his will and won the championship of the third race day in one fell swoop, becoming the first Dakar championship to be taken away by an Indian car factory in history. The veteran over 40 will continue to represent heroes this year.
Fantic
In fact, in the long history of Dakar, a lot of models have participated in the motorcycle race, including Vespa, a small pedal that seems to be delicate. With the passage of time and the development of society, the competition rules of Dakar keep pace with the times, and the competition is becoming more and more difficult. The core technical requirement of the motorcycle group for the vehicle is to use a four-stroke single-cylinder engine with a displacement of no more than 450cc
2.Vehicle selection standard
The bikers participating in Dakar can be divided into two categories. One is the professional bikers hired by the factory team formed by the car manufacturer. They must drive the car provided by the car manufacturer. On the other hand, it is also the case of most bikers. It is the individual bikers of non-factory teams who have the right to choose their cars freely. Therefore, as long as they can meet the following four conditions at the same time, they are likely to appear in Dakar:
3.Meet the rules of the game
4.Can be purchased from the open market
5.There is sufficient supply of spare parts and modified parts
6.There is mature maintenance support force.
In the 2023 Dakar Rally, 125 motorcyclists entered for the race, a slight decrease from 144 in 2022, but still higher than 108 in 2021
KTM
It can be seen from the data that KTM continues to take the lead in the number of entries this year. More than half of the bikers selected KTM's 450 Rally racing cars to compete, including 3 professional bikers from KTM factory teams, and the rest 64 individual bikers who bought or rented KTM racing cars to compete..
GASGAS and Husqvarna
If we add the other two brands of KTM, Huswana and GASGAS, because their racing cars are actually derived from KTM 40 Rally racing cars, then the number of KTM Group's participating vehicles will reach an amazing 100! Yes, 100 out of 125 racing cars are KTM products. KTM achieved the 19th consecutive championship of Dakar Motorcycle Group from 2001 to 2019. It has indeed established an indestructible brand image for its products in the field of rally racing. Although the champions of the last three years have been sidelined, bikers from all over the world still regard KTM as the best partner for the competition. From KTM's successful cases, we can vaguely see the original intention of Kaiyue to send its products to the international competition for training. We will not hesitate to embark on the most difficult road and may find the real shortcut to success.
Yamaha
In addition to the three major brands of KTM Group, Honda of Japan, Heroes of India, Sherco of France and Kaiyue of China also participated in the team set up in the name of the car factory. Although there will be four Yamaha racing cars on the track in 2023, Yamaha has officially announced to withdraw from all rally events after the Dakar race in 2022. The bikers of the Yamaha factory team are also scattered. In 2023, four individual bikers will continue to drive Yamaha racing cars.
Honda
Honda successfully ended the dominance of KTM in 2020 and 2021. Although it only won the second place in Dakar in 2022, the overall strength of Honda's bikers is still very strong. Honda firmly occupied four seats in the top six of the 2022 total scoreboard, and these four bikers will continue to represent Honda in the 2023 Dakar. Therefore, although there are only 9 Honda cars competing, they are not much more expensive, and Honda is definitely the hot team to win the championship in 2023 Dakar.
Hero
Hero motorcycles from India have been competing in teams since 2017, but the bikers of Hero Factory have always been Portuguese bikers. The most impressive thing about this team is that during Dakar in 2020, Portuguese biker Paul Gonsalves was injured and died. In the 2022 race, Paul's brother-in-law, Joaquim Rodriguez, inherited his will and won the championship of the third race day in one fell swoop, becoming the first Dakar championship to be taken away by an Indian car factory in history. The veteran over 40 will continue to represent heroes this year.
Fantic
Fantic is a small Italian factory that is not well known but has been established since 1968. Fantic's off-road rally vehicle product line is actually based on Yamaha model transformation. Fantic participated in the Dakar Rally for the first time in 2022. The biker was Frank Pike, a 67-year-old veteran of Dakar. In 2023, Pike will continue to participate on behalf of Fantic in 2023, starting his 29th Dakar journey.
