Subaru recently introduced its new rally car, which will be competing in the American Rally Association Championship starting from August 2. However, its first official race will take place at the Ojibwe Forests Rally on August 25 and 26. Leading up to its debut, Subaru is documenting the vehicle’s development journey.
The video begins with Subaru’s participation in the 2022 ARA Championship. During this time, the team faced tough competition from Ken Block and made aerodynamic modifications to the WRX in order to close the gap. It’s worth noting that the team has been using this chassis since 2015.
The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, celebrating its 83rd anniversary this year, officially began on August 4, 2023, and will continue until August 13, 2023. One of the highlights of the Sturgis festival is the Motorcycles as Art exhibit at the Buffalo Chip. It was at this exhibit that Royal Enfield and Roland Sands Design introduced the very first Super Meteor 650 custom build ever showcased anywhere in the world.
The unveiling of the Royal Enfield x RSD chopper was quite dramatic, as shown in the Instagram video shared by both Enfield and RSD on social media. The bike was concealed in a large wooden crate featuring the Royal Enfield logo. Without any fancy light show or smoke, Roland Sands opted for a burnout to forcefully break open the crate and reveal the bike. The front wall of the crate fell off, while the remaining three walls formed a backdrop for Sands to showcase the bike and pose for photos.
The custom Super Meteor 650 built by Roland Sands showcases a striking black and gold color scheme, with several hand-built components crafted by the RSD workshop. The bike stands out with its custom engine covers, foot controls, bar risers, and more. While an official release date for the US market has not been announced as of August 7, 2023, the Super Meteor 650 is already available in other global markets, including India and the UK.
The bike features an Öhlins front fork and rear shock setup, no front brake, and a predominantly matte finish on the paintwork. The frame and the top of the tank surrounding the gas cap have a glossy black finish, while the engine cases, side covers, tail piece, and bar risers are all matte black. Matte gold pinstriping and flames add a touch of style to the design, with a small gold pinstripe design beneath a glossy clearcoat finish on the top of the tank.
If you’re attending Sturgis 2023, you can get a close-up look at this bike by visiting the Motorcycles as Art exhibition at the Buffalo Chip. The exhibit opened on August 5 and will be open until August 10, 2023, from 3 p.m. to midnight every day. Don’t miss the opportunity to see this custom Super Meteor 650 and other exceptional motorcycle art if you’re in the area.
Subaru may no longer be involved in the World Rally Championship, but the company is still active in regional events such as the American Rally Association Championship. In preparation for the 2024 season, Subaru Motorsports USA is introducing a competition-ready WRX, which will have its public debut at the Ojibwe Forests Rally on August 25 and 26.
The rally-spec WRX, built by Vermont SportsCar, has been specifically designed for Subaru’s participation in the American Rally Association Championship’s Open 4WD class. Under the hood, it features a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine with a 33-millimeter restrictor plate and a 22-psi boost limit. This powertrain produces 320 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque. The output is transferred to the all-wheel-drive system through a SADEV six-speed sequential transmission.
Dacia has announced its participation in the Dakar Rally, with plans to begin competing in the World Rally-Raid Championship in 2025. The automaker will be racing in the T1+ category as a manufacturer. Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot stated that the rally will not only test the company’s endurance but also demonstrate its commitment to low-carbon mobility.
While Dacia did not provide many details about its race car, it did reveal that it will be powered by synthetic fuel supplied by Aramco. Dacia is one of several automakers exploring the use of synthetic fuels.
Last year, Porsche started producing its own synthetic fuel in Chile and used it in a 911. However, this technology is not yet capable of saving the internal combustion engine, as Toyota stated in May that it needs further development before mass production becomes feasible.
Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez Herrero will be leading Dacia’s campaign in the Dakar Rally. Both drivers bring several years of Dakar Rally racing experience to the team, with Herrero becoming the first Spanish woman to finish the race in the car category in 2017. Loeb, a nine-time winner of the World Rally Championship, has been participating in the Dakar Rally since 2016.
Next year, Dacia will begin testing prototypes at the Rallye de Maroc, with Loeb and Herrero behind the wheel during the test phase. The automaker sees the rally as both a testing ground and a laboratory for their racing efforts, and they will not be the only ones participating in the race.
Dacia’s factory program will also benefit from the expertise of Prodrive, the British motorsport group. Prodrive has been competing in the Dakar Rally and Rally-Raid since 2020 and achieved second place overall in 2022 and 2023 with Loeb. Ford has also recently announced its entry into the Dakar Rally for next year’s event, setting the stage for competition against Dacia’s entry in the T1+ category.
The Dakar Rally is known for its challenging off-road conditions, and many automakers have been competing in the race for the past 45 years. This year’s event covered over 3,000 miles of desert terrain in just two weeks, attracting new competitors year after year.
Are you planning to be in or near Mattighofen, Austria during summer, 2023? If you’re a Dakar Rally fan, a KTM fan, or both, then you should definitely make plans to check out the KTM Motohall museum in Mattighofen if you’re in the area. The museum recently opened its Legends of the Dakar exhibit in May 2023, featuring 10 different bikes that played pivotal roles in KTM’s rich Dakar history.
The exhibition, as the best such exhibitions tend to do, features both the most memorable parts of the history it’s imparting on visitors, as well as untold, behind-the-scenes stories that every moto history nerd loves to experience. Multiple eras of the Dakar Rally are represented, from the Paris-Dakar years to the South America years, not to mention the current era in Saudi Arabia.
Bikes and stories from KTM legends including Heinz Kinigadner, Fabrizio Meoni, Marc Coma, Matthias Walkner, Toby Price, and Kevin Benavides are all on proud display for visitors to enjoy up close and in person. Fabrizio Meoni took that very first Team Orange win back in 2001, and since that time, KTM Factory riders have managed to scoop up 19 victories—including the most recent one courtesy of Kevin Benavides in 2023.
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“Winning this year‘s Dakar was really the best feeling of my life. And now, to be a part of KTM‘s Legends of the Dakar makes me very proud. I am still overwhelmed, it‘s amazing,” Benavides said in a statement.
“There is no other race like it, and no feeling like winning it. I am so proud to have been an Austrian rider, on an Austrian bike with an Austrian sponsor and it is really cool that the KTM Motohall is telling these stories – especially those ones in history that we did not always get to know about in detail,” added 2018 Dakar winner Matthias Walkner.
“To talk about the history of KTM and the Dakar really makes me a bit proud. Back when I started in 1994, I could not believe the media coverage – it was so much more than I got for my world titles, and I knew it could be good for the brand. While the style and professionalism of racing has changed since then, the fundamentals of the race remain the same. It’s a big adventure,” said Heinz Kinigadner.
“There is no bigger adventure than the Dakar; the momentum and motivation it provided us back in those early years, which proved to be pivotal in the promotion of the KTM name and development of our motorcycles, has never wavered,” Pierer Mobility AG CEO Stefan Pierer added.
If you’re planning to attend, the KTM Motohall is open from Wednesday to Sunday each week, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Starting on July 1, 2023, the Museum moves to its summer hours, which means that it will be open from Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for national holidays.
Tickets are available online via the KTM Motohall official website, which we’ll link to in our Sources for easy access. Children under the age of 14 get in free with paying adults. Adult day passes are 13 Euros (about $14.24 at the time of writing on June 16, 2023).
Discounted tickets are available for high school students over the age of 14, college students, senior citizens, disabled visitors, and groups of 10 or more. The cost for those discounted tickets is 9.10 Euros (about $10). Additionally, family passes are available at a cost of 28 Euros (about $31) for families of two adults and up to three children, but those must be purchased in person at the KTM Motohall and cannot be purchased online. Guided tours, audio guides, and more are also available for additional charges via the KTM Motohall website.
Ford is set to make its mark in the intense world of rally racing with the new Ford Ranger Raptor T1+. The Dakar Rally, known for its demanding off-road stages, is a highly respected event in the rally racing community. Winning the rally can earn a driver, car, or manufacturer a prestigious place in rally history. Ford aims to achieve this distinction with its latest Raptor machine, the Ford Ranger Raptor.
The Ford Ranger Raptor is known for its increased power and performance, with the Raptor name being synonymous with high-performance off-road capabilities. In line with this, Ford has developed the Ford Ranger Raptor T1+ specifically designed to compete for victory at the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
The Dakar Rally presents a new frontier for Ford Performance, who have already achieved victories at renowned racing venues such as Le Mans, Monaco, and Daytona. By entering the Dakar Rally, Ford not only aims to win in the T1+ category but also to gather valuable knowledge and information that can be used for future rally efforts and the development of production performance off-roaders.
The Ranger Raptor T1+ is based on the previous generation Ranger and is equipped with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine. Before participating in the Dakar Rally, it will compete in the Baja España Aragón and the Rally du Maroc. In preparation for the 2025 Dakar Rally, Ford Performance and M-Sport plan to create a custom-built Ranger Raptor T1+ that adheres to the category’s regulations.
Ford’s decision to venture into the Dakar Rally is an exciting announcement that showcases the brand’s commitment to pushing boundaries in the racing world.
