Dakar News

Swedish enduro rider Thomas Berglund will take on the the 2011 Dakar rally in South America aboard a Husaberg FE 450 motorcycle.

Swedish army captain Thomas Berglund, who finished the 2010 edition of the Dakar rally in 12th position overall, has taken delivery of 2 FE 450 Husaberg bikes and will immediately start preparations for the Dakar rally in January 2011.

"Since the motorcycle category is now limited to 450cc the new durable and lightweight Husaberg bikes are a great choice for a real competetive bike." Berglund stated.

For this third event in South America, the Dakar riders, drivers and crews will be returning to some places that have already written themselves into the rally's legend, such as the white dunes of Fiambala, the vast Atacama Desert or the dizzying descent to Iquique.

They will also have the opportunity to discover five new Argentinean provinces, come close to Bolivia and encounter the very northern tip of Chile in Arica, at the gateway to Peru.

In order to respect the rally-raid spirit; the rules will continue to change in 2011, which as mentioned, all elite riders in the motorbike category will ride machines not exceed 450cc.

Furthermore, the GPS functions have been reduced for guidance to the WPM (way point markers), giving priority to reading and mastering the road-book.

The collaboration between the rally's teams and the various bodies in charge of environmental matters has continued during all the preparatory phases for the Dakar 2011, with particular care given to avoiding sensitive areas on the path of the rally's route.

Additionally, a new assessment of the race's carbon footprint has been commissioned to determine the greenhouse gas emissions related to the rally.

For more than 30 years in Africa, and now in South America, the rally has teamed on many initiatives to establish links with the local people.  The Dakar Rally in 2011 promises to be another great motorcycling event.