Murrieta, CA – KTM Motorsports is excited to announce the extension of Factory rider Kurt Caselli’s contract to race the Dakar Rally and SCORE/Baja events through year 2016.

Caselli, who has been a member of the KTM Factory team for the past 11 seasons, is excited to stay with his orange family for an additional three years while also adding new events to his schedule.

The 29 year-old rider raced his first Dakar Rally in January 2013 where he impressively won two stages of the event. His speed, eagerness to learn and ability to quickly adapt to the surroundings caught the eye of KTM’s Director of Racing, Pit Beirer. Together, Beirer and Factory FMF/KTM Team Manager Antti Kallonen, reached an agreement that would allow Caselli to represent the Red Bull KTM Factory World Rally Team for the next three years while also continuing his US based SCORE/Baja racing efforts as a member of the Factory FMF/KTM Team.

Charlotte, N.C. – Team-owner and driver Robby Gordon launches his Stadium SUPER Trucks (SST) Series at the University of Phoenix Stadium on April 6. All trucks featured in the series are being built in Gordon’s shop using equipment from his longtime NASCAR and Off-Road partner, Lincoln Electric.

The SST series will kick off the NBC-televised season in April with a minimum of 12 events scheduled throughout the United States and potential international events. The SST vehicles are highly-modified trucks that are powered by 600-hp V-8 engines and racing on DOT-approved tires.

Today Santiago saw the final parade and the prize-giving ceremony staged on a podium set up downtown as the thirty-fifth edition of the Dakar Rally drew to a close. The parade included all the teams who managed to finish the race that began on the 5th January in Lima, Peru and finally rolled into the Chilean capital some 8000 km (5000 miles) later. Joining the celebrations was the Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain, one of the main protagonists this year. This has been the second official participation in the Dakar for the Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain. The race has been an excellent display of all the work carried out by the squad’s technicians at the Dakar, as well as in the factory in Varese, Italy. A superb effort was made also by the private riders aboard their Husqvarna TE449s who were able to take on and complete this great challenge.

Santiago, Chile – On the final day of the 2013 Dakar Rally, Robby Gordon and Kellon Walch set the pace to start Stage 14. However, the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / MAPEI HUMMER finished the 114KM stage in 6th place; it was the American duo’s first finish outside the top 5 since Stage 4.

The Rally consisted of ups and downs for Gordon as a driver and Walch as a navigator. No matter the outcome of the stage, the two continued to battle capturing 8 podiums and 2 stage wins in the world’s toughest off-road race. After the roll over on Day 4, Gordon knew that continuing with the Rally would help overall in developing the HUMMER to make it stronger to come back in 2014 to capture the ultimate goal in an overall win.

Copiapo, Chile – Today’s stage went extremely well for the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / MAPEI HUMMER until the last checkpoint where Robby Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch would find themselves stuck, losing precious minutes from their lead.

Gordon led the charge to start Stage 12 heading back into the country of Chile. The Rally started at 6 AM local time to cross over the Andes making it an exceptionally long liaison to the start of the 319KM Special. The competitors would race into the dunes of the Atacama desert, a place that Gordon has won multiple stages in the past.

Fiambalá, Argentina – The organization has again decided to cancel the remaining kilometers of Stage 11 due to flash flooding in the area. As a result, Robby Gordon was declared the winner since he was the leader at Checkpoint 1, where the organization decided to red flag the race.

“We won the stage, so today was a good special for us. It could have been a great special for us. I am sure we could have beat most of the cars by 30 minutes or more. It is a shame they had to cancel it because of weather since we would have climbed the standings today. The flooding was not too bad when we got to it; it was only about a foot or two high. Not a big deal, I mean I thought this was the Dakar, the toughest race in the world…it seems like they have lost sight of that this year,” commented a slightly disappointed Gordon even though he won the stage because he knew there was still more time to be gained on his competition.

La Rioja, Argentina – Stage 10 in this year’s Dakar Rally was a much shorter stage than yesterday but featured much of the same narrow WRC-style course. Given this, Robby Gordon and navigator Kellon Walch knew that it would not be suitable for the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / MAPEI HUMMER.

Starting fourth today allowed Gordon to keep pace with the 4wd cars in order to stay within reach. Gordon put on a spectacular show with his vehicle, pushing corners through river crossings and jumping cattle crossings, ultimately giving the locals a reason  to cheer. Gordon finished fifth, 6 minutes and 51 seconds behind the stage winner.

Cordoba, Argentina – Following a much needed rest day for teams, today’s stage from Tucumán to Córdoba was one of the toughest and longest of this year’s Dakar Rally. Drivers faced a course similar to what would be seen during a WRC race, an advantage that the 4WD race cars had over the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / MAPEI HUMMER.

When the reviewed results came in for Stage 8, Gordon was scored third. Thus, he started third in today’s stage, which was helpful to keep pace with the leaders during the 593KM Special. Gordon lost a few minutes by KM100 and was down nearly 8 minutes to the leader near by the second half of the stage. Not letting the leaders stray too far, Gordon stayed in the top-5 for much of the Special bringing the HUMMER home with a solid fourth place finish, 8 minutes and 37 seconds behind.

Stage 8 in the 2013 Dakar Rally continued in Argentina, taking competitors from Salta to Tucumán. Initially, it was suppose to be one of the longest specials in this year’s race comprising of a 152KM liaison to a 471KM Special then another 228KM to the bivouac. Due to today’s weather conditions, the Special was shortened by more than half, resulting in only 188KM of competition.

Robby Gordon, driver of the SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires / MAPEI HUMMER jumped into the lead early and maintained a fast pace bouncing between first and third place. During the last 40KM, Gordon suffered a puncture in his tire and lost five minutes. Dropping from second to third, he crossed the shortened finish line 5 minutes and 17 seconds behind today’s winner. Gordon entered the bivouac with a third place finish, his fourth consecutive third place finish. This finish could possibly change overnight while the organization is actively looking into today’s situation to determine a course of action.

Teams and riders in the Dakar caravan spent Sunday working on their bikes and preparing for the second half of the 8000 km trip on a north-south trajectory from Lima to Santiago, Chile after what has been an eventful first eight stages that has left all options open.

The 2013 edition of the Dakar Rally was always going to be eventful for the KTM factory teams right from the moment it was clear that Marc Coma stalwart team member to his biggest rival, Cyril Despres of France would not be competing. Coma was ruled out of contention around a week before the start of the rally when doctors declared he was not fully recovered from a shoulder injury incurred in a crash during the Morocco Rally. It was a bitter disappointment to the Spanish rider, and that left the team and fans alike bereft of what is always a magnificent fight between these teammates who are recognized as the two best riders in the world.