Red Bull Desert Wings: Matthias Walkner

Matthias Walkner, MX3 world champion, is the new boy in the Red Bull KTM Factory Team. Great news since the last Austrian rider to take part in the Dakar rally was the legendary Heinz Kinigadner almost 15 years ago. “It’s a dream come true”, said the man from Salzburg. “I am not going to waste this great chance”. It was Kinigadner himself who officially recruited his compatriot to the KTM works team. Small wonder given that Heinz Kinigadner – MotoX world champion in 1984 and 1985 – is also Walkner’s mentor, teaching him all the secrets that he needs to know in order to be competitive in the Dakar Rally.

So what are the essential facts about Matthias Walkner? He grew up wanting to be a motorcycle rider. In 2002, at 16 years of age, he began to work in a motorcycle shop, developing his mechanical skills and understanding. In 2004 he became part of the KTM family, working initially as a test rider and finally winning the MX3 world title.

Walkner’s career got a boost when he crossed paths with Heinz Kinigadner who steered him toward hard enduro and now into rally raids “My world title is not going to be of much use to me from now on,” said the KTM rider. “I will have to start from scratch; right now my main objective is to reach Buenos Aires in one piece”.

His mission at his first Dakar will be to support defending champion Marc Coma and learn as much as possible from the top riders. Coma has no doubts, “Matthias is very fast and has a bright future ahead of him; but, just like everybody else, he must be cautious. He knows he will suffer a lot during his first Dakar”.