When the 2011 Dakar Rally commences on January 1, 2011, most competitors will have had little time to celebrate the festive season, preparing for an almost 3500km journey through the deserts of Chile and Argentina.
Six Australian motorcyclists will contest the mother-of-all desert rallies, with Jacob Smith arguably the best placed to make the top 20. Smith will be riding a Honda and was the winner of the 2009 Australasian Safari. He crashed out of the 2010 event.
Mark Davidson, Warren Strage, Simon Harslett and Andrew Scott will all be riding Hondas, while Simon Pavey will field a privateer BMW. Four of the five Honda riders are backed by GHR Honda, which has a blog if you're interested in following their progress.
Running for the 32nd time, the 2011 Dakar Rally will be a little different from previous events because of the new 450cc capacity rules which could put an end to KTM's dominance of the event.
KTM has won every event since the year 2000.
The rule changes won't become universal until the 2012 event -- which limit motorcycle capacity to 450cc -- but already the changes have seen a huge drop in the number of KTM's entering the 2011 Dakar Rally, down by more than 50 per cent 126 to 62 compared to the 2009 event.
KTM also withdrew its factory team in 2009 when the changes were announced.
However the rule changes seem to have had a positive effect on other marques entering the gruelling desert rally, with Yamaha seeing 14 entrants, Honda is up by 12 bikes and Aprilia and BMW also saw single digit increases in the number of riders choosing their machines.
The number of motorcycle entries in the 2011 Dakar Rally will be 183, including a 1978 Bultaco Frontera 370 ridden by a very brave Ignacio Chivers.
Check out Dakar.com for more details on the race, which kicks off in Buenos Aires on January 1 and the number of bikes and brands participating are as follows:
KTM - 62
Yamaha - 43
Honda - 33
Aprilia - 13
BMW - 9
Beta - 8
Jincheng - 3
Sherco - 3
Husaberg - 3
Kawasaki - 3
Bultaco - 1
Husqvarna - 1
JVO - 1
Read the latest Bikesales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the Bikesales Network's mobile site. Or download the all-new App.