N° 020 - TEAM MOVISTAR KTM
- LOPEZ
- Francisco
- CHL
- 15/09/1975
|
| MODEL |
MAKE |
| LC4 660 RALLYE |
KTM |
Francisco López: «I know it will be necessary to fight»
He comes to his second Dakar with what he considers to be some good guaranties. “I am part of the official KTM team. It is a favourable situation because their logistics are exceptional. If nothing more than that the race will be a lot easier for me”. Motivated thanks to this major jump that is allowing him to have a few ambitions, Francisco ‘Chaleco’ Lopez, knows he can aim for a finish in the top ten. He will ride a KTM 690 with which he got familiar with on the recent Dubai Rally. “I finished fifth overall, but more importantly I got a taste of what it is like to ride this bike”. For his first Dakar in 2007, where he came in as the 450 cc world rally raid champion, Francisco learned a lot. He was in sixth place overall when on the Atar-Tichit stage, when the chain ruptured changing the scenario. This retirement, on stage eight, at half-distance, constituted the key elements for his second attempt. “Now I know what a race is where experience is primordial. It’s necessary that I do a much better job controlling my race. I will really try to remember that even 20kms from the end of a 600km stage anything can still happen”. A pro for the past four years, “Chaleco” hopped on his first motorcycle at the age of seven to begin an astonishing career. He won his first championship in the 85cc motocross class in 1969. Despite the titles won, he very quickly realised that the Dakar is a race that accelerate a rider’s notoriety. But Chaleco also knows the difficulties of this edition: “It will be necessary to fight”, he says, with both determination and modesty.
