Rally Dakar 2005

Repsol Drivers. Marc Coma
Date of birth: 7.10.1976Place of birth: Avià (Barcelona)Place of residence: Avià (Barcelona) Best results 1995: Spanish over 175 cc Junior Enduro CHAMPIONSpanish over 175 cc Junior Enduro CHAMPION by makes1996: Silver medal Enduro World Championship by Nations1997: 4th European over 175cc Senior Enduro Championship1998: Runner-up Spanish 125cc Senior Enduro ChampionshipEnduro under 23 WORLD CHAMPIONEnduro WORLD CHAMPION by Nations1999: 2nd overall Memorial Toni Soler 12th Enduro 250cc Senior World Championship2000: 3rd Spanish 600cc Senior Enduro Championship10th 600cc Senior Enduro World Championship3rd Enduro World Championship by Nations2nd Enduro Indoor BarcelonaWinner 600cc Senior Enduro de las Autonomías2001: Runner-up Spanish 600cc Senior Enduro Championship9th Enduro World Championship3rd World Championship by Nations2002: Debut in the Rally Arras-Madrid-Dakar (best class. 6th)1st overall Memorial Toni Soler2nd Baja España AragónRunner-up Spanish 600cc Senior Enduro Championship (6th Scratch)2003: 11th overall Dakar 2003Participation in the Rally of Egypt2004: Participation in the Dakar 2004. Retired6th Rally Sardinina2nd Rally Tunisia2nd Morocco Rally1st Baja España Aragón  Three years ago an intruder slipped into the Dakar elite. He was a beginner. An unknown name for the Africans, although the Spanish Enduro scene already knew Marc Comas talent. On an experimental motorbike called CSV, sponsored by Carlos Sotelo, Coma finished the muddy European prologues in sixth place. In Africa he managed to keep himself among the top twenty. And the day his bike broke down, he was making the tenth fastest time of the stage. The following year, in 2003, within the official KTM structure, having Nani Roma and Isidre Esteve as team-mates and with the support of Repsol YPF, Coma got his first chance to race a Dakar with adequate means and he didnt waste it. Riding his single-cylinder and in the middle of a pack full of fast and powerful twin-cylinder bikes, Coma more than achieved his objective finishing the Dakar in eleventh position with four third places in different stages. Marc Coma, motorbike rider from his youngest years, had racing background at home. His father, Ricard, managed to finish fifth at the Spanish Senior Motocross Championship. There was always a motorbike at home. Both his father and his uncle were big fans and it finally went over to little Marc. The first bike he rode was a Montesa Cota 348 under the guidance of his uncle and at the age of eight. While he was still learning, Marc used every moment of inattentiveness of his mentor to get on the Cota and disappear on the mountain tracks around his home. After his uncles trial bike he got his own one, a Puch Cobra 74 with which he had his first races with friends in his hometown. Then, and always subject to good grades at school, he got a motocross Honda CR 125, with which he began to take part in his first real races. These first races were followed by regional championships, county championships and finally the national championships. He dedicated himself to this speciality until the age of 18 but Marc didnt see his future on circuits, so before giving up to look for a job he thought to try luck in Enduro. Marc had already made up his mind and wanted to try to become a professional rider. From that moment on Marc focussed on Enduro and the first victories and sporting successes arrived quickly. In 1995, Coma became already Spanish Junior Champion in the Over 175cc class on a 250cc KTM. After that title, Marc joined the National Enduro Team and got the silver medal at the Enduro World Championship of the following year. That result was followed by several other brilliant results in the years to come, such as the fourth place in the European Senior Enduro Championship, the under 23 Enduro World Championship, the Enduro World Championship for Nations and a third place in the Enduro World Championship for Nations. But the Dakar had already drawn his attention and in 2002, Carlos Sotelo, former Dakar rider, offered Marc the chance to ride a bike that had been built by Sotelo himself, the CSV with a Suzuki single-cylinder engine, at the Arras-Madrid-Dakar. As long as the bike and the mechanical parts survived, Marc lived an incredible experience and even managed to clinch a sixth place in one of the initial stages. He couldnt finish the race, but the Dakar had already got him. That same season he tried luck at the Baja Aragón and in his first participation finished second. In 2003 Marc got back to the Dakar, this time on a KTM with Nani Roma and Isidre Esteve. Despite competing on a single cylinder and breaking his wrist on one of the last days of the rally, Coma reached Dakar in eleventh place, an excellent result considering his little experience in this race. As a reward for his performance, Marc Coma had the chance to be back at the Dakar 2004 with the same team and team-mates. He was being the perfect squid for Joan Roma and Isidre Esteve, but five stages before the end of the race, he suffered a heavy crash, where his bike hit him on his head. Coma lost consciousness for some instants but fortunately the initial alarm gave way to relief after the medical check revealed that there were no serious injuries but a strong hit on the head and on his right wrist. And relief gave way to helplessness, because it meant the end of his participation in the bid African raid. With the firm objective of continuing with his learning process, Marc Coma had a brilliant start of the season at the Raids World Cup this year. Marc finished second overall in the first round staged in Tunisia, with three stage victories in his private account. He was second again in Morocco and together with his team-mate and friend Isidre Esteve took a historical one-two finish for the Repsol KTM Team, stepping on the two highest steps of the podium. Coma took part in the Sardinia Rally, finishing on a meritorious sixth place, preparing his participation in the Baja Aragón. And that preparation together with the excellent shape of the young rider turned out to be essential, because he managed to take the victory of the prestigious race for the first time in his sports career. But not everything would be joy. He was on his way to finish second at the Rally of Egypt, but the sudden death of Richard Sainct made all KTM riders decide to retire from the race as a tribute. The last race of the Championship didnt benefit Marc either because, despite winning two of the four stages, the rear wheel shaft of his bike broke, hindering him from fighting for the victory of the Arab Emirates raid. In constant progression, Marc Coma has proven to be fast and reliable throughout the season, two essential requirements to be ready to fight for the Dakar 2005. This rising value who will be sharing the structure of the Repsol KTM Team with Isidre Esteve and veteran Giovanni Sala, has a clear objective: reaching Dakar among the leading positions and making-up for the retirement in 2004.