Red Bull India

Marc Coma’s future as a major Enduro star was settled almost as soon as the Spaniard could say the word ‘motorcyle’. As a young boy Coma used to collected pictures of Dakar Rally riders and by the age of eight was emulating them, at first in motocross but eventually in the punishing arena of Enduro competition. It was the right decision: he was Spanish Junior Champion in 1995, World Champion in the under-23 category in 1998, third in the Spanish championship in 2000, and second in 2001. It was time for him to turn to the big rallies. Showing remarkable commitment and skill on his first Dakar as a privateer in 2002, he was picked up by the KTM works team for the following year’s event. Hard work translated into second place in 2005 a year in which he also landed a world Enduro title. It was in 2006 though that he finally landed the big one – a Dakar win. It was a feat he repeated in 2009, this time taking the win in the first Dakar to be run outside of Africa, Coma mastering the Argentinian Pampas, Chile’s Atacama desert and the dizzy heights of the Andes in what many called the toughest ever Dakar rally. It’s meat and drink to Coma though and Dakar remains an ever-present dream and goal. “You have to prepare for Dakar all year,” he says. “We’re a lot like track and field athletes: they go to the Olympics only every four years but spend three years preparing for them. We’re in a similar situation but, fortunately, we get to do the Dakar every year.”