The New Year is only moments away, and every fresh calendar starts with the biggest off-road race on the planet – the Dakar Rally. This will be the second year in a row that the historic African event is held on the South American continent as it runs through Argentina and Chile. The season leading up to the 2010 rally has been full of big announcements and so we embark on another decade of Dakar racing with an event that could reshape the sport as we know it.

It was a back and forth battle with the French Dakar organizers, ASO, who have had concerns about bikes being too powerful and the resulting injuries and death, announcing that bikes no larger than 450cc would be allowed to compete. Well, to Austrian manufacturer and Dakar’s largest OEM supporter, KTM, which has dumped tons of time, money and resources into the race over the years, this was an enormous slap in the face. Not only was it disrespectful to the largest motorcycle company involved in the sport, but it directly put them out on the very popular 690 Rally machines that KTM has developed specifically for this event.

“We have the entire material for the 690 Rally motorcycles for our factory team as well as that for 50 customers' motorcycles in our storage facility ready to be constructed in June. Riders' contracts have been finalized and all the team members have been engaged,” said KTM Motor Sport Advisor Heinz Kinigadner in a June statement. “The financial consequences that results from this decision are enormous. Quite apart from this, we are shocked by the organizer's lack of loyalty, above all because of the huge efforts we made following the cancellation of the Dakar in 2008 by contributing to the new edition - even during a period of extreme economic crisis."

As pissed off as KTM was, the company decided to continue supporting the privateer racers who had already committed. And despite the enormous slight, KTM also wasn’t ready to let its high-paid desert assassins sit around and get fat over the holiday, so Cyril Despres and Marc Coma are slated to compete. Though KTM called them part of the “privateer” rider segment, the two factory racers and former champions will be competing on 690 machines with performance limiters to haul the potent motorcycles down to 450 levels.

Coma is the reigning champion after his gutty performance in 2009 on the Repsol KTM squad. Despres, however, is determined to get the title back and relive the glory he felt in 2007 before the Spaniard stole his crown. The Frenchman suffered mechanical woes last year on his Red Bull KTM which conspired to keep him from victory.

“I’m tempted to say that out of a less than perfect situation, we have found a pretty perfect solution,” he said on his website. “Clearly recruiting Ruben Faria so late in the day was far from ideal, but having just spent a week together I am more than happy with our decision.”

Faria has played the role of wingman before and will ride the 5553-mile, 14-stage with the goal of getting his teammate to the finish out front. For more in-depth information on the hellish course that starts and finishes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, check out the 2010 Dakar Rally Route Details. 

France’s other Dakar specialist, David Casteu, will try his hand again, this time aboard a Sherco machine. Casteu was the final podium finisher last year. Running the Number 4 plate will be Pal Anders Ullevalseter, who recently competed in the first electric Green Enduro, and the veteran Norwegian will again race his familiar KTM equipment. Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues represents Yamaha’s biggest hopes and Frans Verhoeven and Paulo Goncalves lead the BMW efforts.

Racing starts on January 1 with the opening liaison and then the hard-core action starts the following day. The rest day will be on Jan. 9 with racers fortunate enough to make it home finishing the final stage on Jan. 16.