KTM’s 3-times Dakar winner Marc Coma on Saturday underlined he is King of the Desert by taking overall victory in the first ever Sealine Rally in Qatar. He has now won both rallies of the FIM Cross Country World Championship held so far with two to go in Sardinia and Egypt.
In what was an extremely fast final desert leg, Coma finished 2:06 minutes behind his Spanish compatriot Joan Barreda whose chances of winning were scrapped two days ago after he incurred a 2-our penalty for missing a control point. Coma rounded off what has been a great week’s ride by securing the overall victory from Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues by a margin of six minutes. The top 10 finishers averaged speeds of between 109.4 and 102. 3 kmh.
KTM riders Jordi Villadoms, also of Spain rounded off the final podium leading in a string of other KTM 450 Rally bike riders. Jakub Przgonski of Poland was fourth and Coma’s factory teammate Ruben Faria of Portugal finished fifth. In total riders of the Dakar-winning KTM rally bike soaked up seven of the top 10 places for an excellent result for the Austrian brand.
Marc Coma:
“Today was very fast and it was 208 km but there was nothing very difficult for me. I tried to have fun and stay focused and to control the race. The bike worked perfectly and the tam prepared everything very well. It was our first time here so its nice to have the victory and it is a good start to the World Championship.”
Final Stage Results
1, Joan Barreda, Spain, Husqvarna 1:54.24
2, Marc Coma, Spain, KTM at 2.06
3, Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha at 2.12
4, Jordi Villadoms, Spain, KTM at 3.30
5, Ruben Faria, Portugal, KTM at 4.27
Final Results
1, Coma, 13 hours 54.43 (Coma wins second rally of the two so far in the 4-rally championship)
2, Helder Rodrigues at 6.05 minutes
3, Villadoms, KTM at 14.11
4, Przgonski, KTM at 19.23
5, Faria, KTM at 22.06
Foto: E. Bauer / KTM Images
