~ Auto Buzz ~: Exclusive! CW Interview: Heinz Kinigadner Dakar legend explains KTM’s rally philosophy and provides insight into MotoGP project.

My interview with Heinz Kinigadner at the Iquique bivouac in Chile was special. This year marks the first time that the Dakar legend has returned to the rally since his son, Hannes, was paralyzed more than a decade ago. Kinigadner is mentoring Matthias Walkner. He convinced the three-time motocross world champion to switch to rally racing, just as Kinigadner himself did after a successful MX career. The young Austrian surprised everyone by winning a stage in his debut, but he has since struggled with navigation. During stage 8 from Uyuni to Iquique in Bolivia, overnight rains reacted with the salt at the start on the vast Salar de Uyuni and damaged electrical and mechanical parts of most of the bikes. Many riders were forced to withdraw. (Walkner survived that stage only to fall ill during the stage 10 liaison in the Andes. Unable to navigate, he missed a refueling stop and is now out of the race.) Regarding the effects of the salt on the bikes, Kinigadner said, “The mechanics changed every part of [race leader] Marc Coma’s bike, but what about the amateurs? They don’t have a dedicated mechanic or all the spares of a factory team.”

With MotoGP pre-season testing beginning next month, I asked Heinz Kinigadner about KTM’s new project. Last July, CEO Stefan Pierer announced KTM will race in MotoGP by 2017. “During the last few years, we pushed to see if the rules for Moto2 would change,” he said. “Last year at Qatar, we met with Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. He confirmed Moto2 will not change and suggested we compete in MotoGP. “Ezpeleta explained the new rules for MotoGP, confirming a single ECU. This point was crucial. We are not afraid mechanically, but developing electronics would have raised costs a lot. We discussed the situation at home, and the board gave us the green light to proceed.” “The plan is to follow the same system as in Moto3: Build a competitive bike and then find a team that will compete with our material. This is what we did with Team Ajo Motorsport. At the moment, we are not planning to line up a factory team, but things could change. In 2016, we hope to do some testing and maybe one wildcard.” In 2016, MotoGP will return to Austria—at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg—for the first time in nearly two decades.

KTM has long focused on amateurs. “Dakar is a race where not only money wins,” Kinigadner said. “On Christmas day, 1991, I was on a boat headed to Libya for Paris-Le Cap. I received a phone call from [KTM CEO] Stefan Pierer telling me that he had received the green light from the government to begin building bikes again. “After the three days of racing, my Yamaha was on fire. So, on January 6, I was in Pierer’s office, and we started production. I was in charge of sports and marketing, but the company was bankrupt. With no budget, we set up a team of five riders and one mechanic for Paris-Dakar-Paris. I was the team manager and also a rider. “The media exposure we got was impressive and it opened doors for other projects. We started to build the first Adventure; that was the beginning of KTM’s success. By 1997, KTM was the number-one brand in the Dakar in terms of number of bikes entered.” While other manufacturers competed with 800 or 1000cc twins, KTM developed a 620cc single. “We pushed to change the rules to allow riders to replace their engines during the race,” Kinigadner said. “We made a big effort to provide a reliable bike, powerful enough for privateers, equipped with good suspension.”

Kinigadner says the all-powerful BMW twin of the era was not for privateers. “It was 1000cc, weighed 600 pounds and was fast as a bullet,” he said. “Ninety mph is fast enough for an amateur. The most important things are good service and a cheap bike equipped with good suspension. Fabrizio Meoni won once with a single and once with a twin. We continued to work on the single-cylinder project; the twin was too expensive, too fast, and too dangerous.” According to Kinigadner, a top rider on a standard KTM rally bike could finish in the top 10. “The priority is to give everyone the possibility to try for a good result,” he said, “not just those who have a big budget.” Kinigadner said KTM’s annual rally budget is about $4.5 million, including riders and staff. An amateur should expect to shell out $60,000, plus the cost of the bike. Coma is aiming for his fifth Dakar win and 14th consecutive success for the Austrian brand. “Our strength is the team,” Kinigadner said. “We have the most experienced guys. New ideas and solutions arrive every day.”