Pirelli Moto Secures Dakar 1st and 2nd Overall with Scorpion Rally

Pirelli reports that its Dakar Rally debut as a supplier to the official KTM factory teams was nothing short of dominating, with the new Scorpion Rally tyre, fitted to bikes ridden by Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, capturing the 1st and 2nd positions on the podium. This Pirelli off-road rally tyre was developed together with KTM in preparation for this year’s Dakar. Out of a field of 235 riders, seven riders chose to receive support from Pirelli and out of these seven, three riders finished in the top seven positions overall. KTM Repsol rider Marc Coma, from Spain, and Red Bull KTM rider Cyril Despres, from France, were fiercely competitive in this 31st edition of the Dakar, which this year was staged in South America.

The two years development invested into the Scorpion Rally has resulted in a product worthy of such a challenging race, states Pirelli. The new tyre underwent testing and collaboration with the best rally riders and racing teams, and Dakar 2009 was chosen for its launch due to the event’s popular following and demanding terrain. The tyre’s structure helped guarantee outstanding performance and high resistance to fatigue and puncture, says the Italian manufacturer. Furthermore, the Scorpion Rally’s compound and knobs layout is designed to provide great traction and grip for the difficult terrains that are encountered in even the most demanding rallies, such as Dakar.

Pirelli Tyre has expressed its thanks to Marc Coma, Cyril Despres, the entire KTM team and its riders for managing the uncertainty of change, their excellent preparations prior to the race, and for their confidence in Pirelli’s ability to produce a winning rally tyre. Pirelli states that it and KTM look forward to all the excellent racing results the partnership will bring as well as the strong and positive benefits that two sport-focused companies will inevitably find.