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At the 4th Annual Kurt Caselli Foundation Fundraiser

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Conventional wisdom says that mixing wine with motorcycles is a bad idea, but in the case of last week’s 4th annual Kurt Caselli Foundation fundraiser at Doffo Winery in Temecula, California, it was a perfect pairing.

Kurt Caselli was an accomplished off-road racer with multiple AMA District 37 championships, Hare and Hound titles, and was the overall class champion in the International Six Day Enduro in 2007 and 2011.

Additionally, he was a competitor in the Dakar Rally and the Baja 1000. The Baja 1000 was where he met his untimely death in 2013, and after his death, the Kurt Caselli Foundation was formed.

The foundation was established to promote safety for off-road riders and racers, and strives to support these riders before, during, and after a racing career.

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Dirt

Watch “Caselli 66 – Ride The Dream” Right Here

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On that fateful day during the Baja 1000, Kurt Caselli’s life was ended far too early. At thirty-years-old and still riding an upward trajectory with his career, Caselli had already amassed an impressive resumé of race wins, and had just been announced as the newest rider KTM Racing’s Dakar Rally factory team for 2014.

While it is easy to talk about his off-road accomplishments, the thing we hear the most, from the people that knew him best, was Kurt’s amazing personality. He was the very best at what he did, and also one of the very best doing it.

It is touching then to see that the short video “Caselli 66 – Ride The Dream” has been produced to honor our lost racer. For those that didn’t know Kurt, it is a great introduction into his amazing life, on and off the race track. And for those he was close to, the video serves as an excellent vehicle in which to remember those better times.

After the jump is the 30-minute-ish film, but be sure to grab some tissues before you hit play. It’s powerful stuff.

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Dirt

Kurt Caselli Film Coming Soon: Caselli 66 – Ride the Dream

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In honor of fallen off-road legend Kurt Caselli, the foundation named after him in conjunction with Red Tide Pictures, has decided to produce a movie about his life and stellar racing career.

Taken tragically on November 15, 2013 while competing in the Baja 1000, Caselli is a rider who will not quickly be forgotten, leaving behind a legacy and a stamp on the hearts of those who knew him.

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Dirt

Kurt Caselli Foundation Announces Official Website

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The Kurt Caselli Foundation, an organization dedicated to the safety of off-road riders, has announced the release of their official website. The foundation was established in 2013 after the death of Motocross legend Kurt Caselli during the 2013 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.

The foundations website states that their goal is to emphasize safety in a three-part mission:

  1. Before racing, we are committed to encouraging, developing, and standardizing safety precautions that will help minimize risk outside of the rider’s control
  2. During racing, we are committed to developing, establishing, and encouraging the use of safety equipment and policies to increase the safety of the riders
  3. After racing, we are committed to providing a safety net that allows and encourages former racers to further their education and reach career goals for themselves and their families
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Racing

Marc Coma Takes His Fourth Career Dakar Rally Victory

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The 2014 Dakar Rally is finally done, after two weeks of hard racing across Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. Despite a slow start to this year’s Dakar, KTM’s Marc Coma took his fourth career win of the iconic rally raid race, aboard KTM’s all new KTM 450 Rally race bike.

Finishing almost two hours clear of his nearest competitor, teammate Jordi Viladoms, Coma took the lead on Stage Five and never looked back. The Spaniard’s fourth Dakar win came primarily from consistent riding, which saw Coma slowly rise in the rankings as Despres and Barreda made mistakes and encountered technical difficulties with their machinery.

“Without the right people behind me it would have been impossible to win,” said Coma. “We have worked very well throughout the race and also before. Last year I went through a very difficult situation not being able to compete because of injury and I came back to win the race. I think this says a lot about the people I have around me. I am very proud of this victory. What was key to winning the Dakar was not to make any mistakes.”

Marc Coma dedicated his win to his late teammate Kurt Caselli, who tragically died during the 2013 SCORE Baja 1000. Caselli filled in for Coma in the 2013 rally, earning himself great praise for his assention in the ranks, and two stage wins. Coma’s victory is a fitting tribute to the American rider.

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Racing

Video: KTM Readies for the 2014 Dakar Rally

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Cyril Despres might be the man to beat at the upcoming Dakar Rally, but the boys at KTM aren’t going to let Despres’ defection to Yamaha Racing stop them from keeping the Austrian brand’s winning streak alive. Gearing up for the 2014 Dakar Rally, which starts January 5th in Argentina, KTM factory riders Marc Coma, Ruben Faria and Francisco Lopez talk in a video about the upcoming race and their new KTM 450 Rally race bike.

Debuting the purpose-built 450cc machine, Coma et al will have a potent weapon this year, especially in the more technical stages. However, with two marathon stages (stages where the riders must perform all their own maintenance and mechanical work), as well as five separation stages (stages where motorcycles and quads will tackle a different and more technical routes of the course than the cars and trucks), the 2014 Dakar Rally is looking especially hard compared to previous years.

With Coma looking to tie Despres’ current tally of five wins, we can expect strong competition from the Spaniard. Missing last year’s event due to injury, Coma will be keen to regain his momentum, and equal his Dakar rival. Of course, the KTM Factory Red Bull Team enters this year’s rally with heavy hearts, mourning the loss of American Kurt Caselli, who died this year while competing in the SCORE Baja 1000. KTM is dedicating their race in this year’s Dakar to their fallen teammate.

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Dirt

Remembering Kurt Caselli

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The motorcycling community is still morning the loss of American off-road racer Kurt Caselli, who tragically died while competing in the 2013 SCORE Baja 1000.

A beloved competitor, and rising star in the rally racing world, Kurt’s absence is felt by many, but during our time of mourning we also remember the light that he was as a person.

Paying tribute to him, KTM has put together a thoughtful video that remembers Kurt, as told by the people who knew him best at KTM. It’s cool if you cry a little. We did.

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Racing

KTM and the Baja 1000 Release More Info on Kurt Caselli

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Organizers of the Baja 1000 and KTM Racing have both released press releases concerning the death of American racer Kurt Caselli, who unfortunately died today during the Baja 1000 race.

While SCORE International’s press release only mentions that Caselli died while leading the Baja 1000, KTM’s press release adds information about Caselli’s race bike, which appears has signs that the talented American rider encountered an animal on the race course, which likely caused his crash.

Meanwhile, FMF Racing’s Donny Emler Jr. has posted to Instagram a message that refutes earlier reports that a spectator-made booby trap was involved in the incident, and describes how competitors Ricky Brabec and Ivan Ramirez came upon Caselli and sought help for the fallen rider. Both press releases are after the jump.

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Racing

Kurt Caselli Has Died While Competing in the Baja 1000

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We bring you unfortunate news from the Baja California Peninsula, as we have gotten word that American Kurt Caselli has died while competing in the 2013 Baja 1000 off-road race.

Leading the race on his factory-supported KTM, early reports indicated that Caselli crashed after hitting a booby trap (an all too common feature of the Baja 1000) around the 796-mile mark, and later succumbed to injuries to his head.

However, a post to Instagram by FMF’s Donny Emler Jr. says that is not the case, and that Kurt’s crash was merely a racing incident, and did not occur near any spectators. Press statements from both KTM and the Baja 1000 organizers can be read here, and suggest that Caselli’s motorcycle came in contact with an animal, which likely caused his crash.

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Bikes

First Photos of the 2014 KTM 450 Rally Race Bike

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These are the first photos of the 2014 KTM 450 Rally factory race bike that Marc Coma, Kurt Caselli, and Ruben Faria will ride in the upcoming Dakar Rally in three-months time (factory rider Francisco Lopez will be on the 2013 machine). The 2014 race bike is a completely new machine from the ground up, and will make its racing debut at the OilLibya Rally of Morocco.

With the goal of winning its 13th Dakar in a row, KTM has some stiff competition for this upcoming Dakar, as former-rider Cyril Despres has defected to the Yamaha Racing team, and HRC has recently debuted its brand new 2014 Honda CRF450 Rally race bike as well.

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Racing

KTM Readying All-New 2014 Dakar Rally Race Bike

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The 2014 Dakar Rally is still five months away, but KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has tipped the Austrian company’s hand in an interview with KTM’s official company blog. With the goal of making a lighter, slimmer, and better handling machine, KTM has been working on a ground-up redesign of its venerable adventure-racer.

Of course, KTM will still have to use a 450cc single-cylinder engine, per the Dakar Rally’s rules, but Pierer says the chassis will be significantly improved upon over the current iteration.

That goal seems easy enough, as the company CEO disclosed that the current 2013 race bike is essentially using the same chassis when The Dakar had a 600cc engine regulation for factory teams.

Modifying the old chassis to design simply to accommodate the new 450cc lump, KTM’s short-cut to building a new rally racing machine was crude, yet obviously effective.

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