N° 029 -

COTTET Philippe CHE 08/06/1971

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
WRF 450	KTM

Philippe Cottet: «To approach the untouchables»

He hesitated before entering his fourth Dakar. “When you’re a privateer rider, the Dakar is a huge machine to get up and running. It is a financial risk and there’s a lot of work to do before setting off. And when you know that all this hard work go for nothing due to a crash in Portugal…”

In the end, Philippe Cottet listened to his heart rather than his head. It’s true the Swiss rider has managed to ride error free on the Dakar. He is one of the “very good” privateers on the rally. Three starts, three finishes: 53rd in 2001, 31st in 2005 and 29th in 2007.

“Now, I am really motivated,” says Philippe. In fact, destiny made things just a bit easier for him for 2008. Contracted by KTM Switzerland to become its factory rider, Philippe Cottet has economised both time and energy in the preparation of his bike. “I made the switch from a Yamaha 450 to a KTM 690. There was nothing to do except make a small update. Far less hours spent in the shop, are extra hours for training”. He has thus raised his ambitions…he’s aiming for a top 20 result. “On the Dakar, there are 15 or 20 competitors that are out of reach. My goal is to approach the untouchables as best I can”.

» List of entrants