INTERVIEW
DAKAR RALLY FINISHER RICKY BRABEC
P84
bike the whole time.
KTM vs. Honda Team
Structure
As far as the setup and logis-
tics, I think they're pretty equal.
We both had motorhomes, we
both had one of those big ol' parts
trucks, but I think they're pretty
equal. It's just a matter of playing
it smart or playing it safe at the
same time. I don't really know
because this is all new to me, but I
do know that this rally stuff is kind
of a game on some days.
A Change Of Pace
You can't go hard for 13 days
in a row because you'll eventu-
ally get tired. I didn't know when
to go fast or when to back down
so I just kind of—Quinn told me
to keep my pace at a fast pre-run
pace like I would in Mexico. I did
that every single day. It worked
out pretty well, but from what I
got out of it, those [top] guys go
really hard in the beginning; then
in the middle like around the rest
day, they go like 75 percent and
play it smart and safe. Then the
last few days they go hard.
I didn't know. I just went out
there and rode because I'm still
learning. Now I know what to ex-
pect, for sure, because this year
I was prepared, but I don't think
I was prepared like I should've
been prepared. I didn't know
what to expect.
Now I know how to train, for
sure. I went to Dakar [this time]
to learn everything about it and
now I think next year I can be
better because I will be prepared
a little bit more in different ways.
Marathon Man
The marathon [stages], be-
cause you can't do anything to
the bike [after finishing the first
part], I think the two marathon
[stages], for sure you hold back
a little bit because you don't
want to wreck the bike. If you
wreck the bike on the first [day
of the] marathon [stage], you
can't work on it that night, then
you have to ride the whole next
day with a beat-up bike. The
marathon [stages] for sure you're
playing it really safe and smart
because if you wreck the bike,
it's going to slow you down the
next day so it's better to slow
down at first and just make it
there. That way, you have a bike
that's 100 percent both days
because no one wants to race
with a beat-up bike because that
slows you down.
If you bend the exhaust pipe
or handlebar, you're stuck with
that because they don't carry
parts for you [into the bivouac of
THE MECHANICS HAD
THE BIKES FREAKING
LOOKING LIKE BRAND-
NEW EVERY SINGLE DAY! IT
WAS AWESOME.
