P50
IN
THE
WIND
place Kurt, who was a special
friend and teammate, but we believe that what we need now for
the team is stability," said team
manager Alex Doringer. "Jordi
has worked with us in the past
and he has a lot of Dakar experience. This experience he has,
along with the familiarity with the
team, will help us during this dif-
ficult transition period."
Villadoms said he was looking forward to riding again for the
KTM Factory team.
"It's obviously a shame to be
inheriting the ride under such
sad circumstances, but I'll be
doing my best to put on a good
show in Kurt's memory," he said.
Joining Coma and Villadoms
on the team for the 2014 edition
of the Dakar are Portugal's Ruben Faria and Francisco 'Chaleco' Lopez of Chile.
KTM has won the Dakar every
year since their breakthrough
year in 2001, except for 2008
when it was cancelled at the last
minute because of security issues in Northern Africa.
NICOLETTI JOINS JGRMX
he Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha
Team is already preparing for
the worst. Just in case anything
happens to either of its team's
principle riders – Justin Brayton
and Josh Grant – the team has
hired Phil Nicoletti as a substitute rider.
The idea is that by giving Nicoletti an opportunity to test with
the team, the New York-native
will be ready to step in at a moment's notice if anything happens to Grant or Brayton that
prevents them from racing. According to the team, the move
was made because "…JGRMX
is a sponsor-driven operation,
rather than one fielded by an
OEM, and JGRMX wanted to
insure its sponsors received the
visibility promised," the team
said in a release.
Nicoletti, however, will be
guaranteed entry to at least six
races as a support rider for the
JGRMX Team, along with additional support from N-Fab and
St. Lawrence Radiology.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER
T
When Nicoletti is riding as a
third rider to the team, he will
display slightly different graphics on his number-38 Yamaha
YZ450F than those of the Toyota/Yamaha/JGRMX Team. Nicoletti's graphics will also highlight
N-Fab and St. Lawrence Radiology colors. Should he ride as a
Phil Nicoletti has already been hired
by the Toyota/JGRMX/Yamaha
Team as a substitute rider.
substitute for Brayton or Grant,
he will have the Toyota/Yamaha/
JGRMX Team graphics package. Nicoletti's first race is expected to be the Atlanta Supercross, February 22.
