Five-Time Winner · Dakar Rally

Marc Coma

Five Dakar Rally victories and six world cross-country rally championships, all of them on a KTM. He became the Dakar’s sporting director the same year he won it for the fifth time.

Nationality
Spanish · Catalan
Born
7 October 1976 · Avià, Barcelona
Dakar wins
5 (2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015) · all on KTM
Dakar record
12 starts · 25 stage wins
World titles
6 · FIM Cross-Country Rallies, 2005–07, 2010, 2012, 2014
Later
Sporting director of the Dakar Rally, 2015–2018
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Five-Time Dakar Winner
2002 — 2015
5
Dakar Victories
6
World Championships
25
Dakar Stage Wins
31
World Championship Wins

Who is Marc Coma?

Marc Coma (born 7 October 1976) is a Spanish rally-raid rider who won the Dakar Rally five times — in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015 — and the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship six times, all on KTM motorcycles. He was the Dakar’s sporting director from 2015 to 2018.

Full name
Marc Coma i Camps
Nationality
Spanish · Catalan
Career
2002–2015
Best known for
Five Dakar wins and six world cross-country titles on KTM

By KozmozInspire Editorial Published Updated 5 sources

Rider Profile

Marc Coma: Full Biography

Marc Coma i Camps is a Spanish rally-raid rider who won the Dakar Rally five times — in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015 — and the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship six times, every one of them on a KTM. He took 25 Dakar stage wins from twelve starts and 31 world championship event victories.

Catalonia He was born at Avià, near Berga in Catalonia, to a father who had finished fifth in the senior Spanish motocross championship. His first motorcycle, at eight, was a Montesa Cota 348. He came to rally-raid through enduro, taking the under-23 world title in 1998 and helping Spain win the World Cup for Nations the same year.

Despres His career ran alongside that of his KTM team-mate Cyril Despres, and the two of them shared the motorcycle class for a decade. Coma lost the 2005 Dakar to him by under ten minutes, beat him by nearly ninety in 2009 and by fifteen in 2011, and lost the 2012 rally to an engine-change penalty while the two were less than two minutes apart.

Sporting Director He was appointed the Dakar Rally’s sporting director in 2015, the year of his fifth victory, and held the role until 2018. In 2020 he returned to the rally in the car category, as co-driver to Fernando Alonso, finishing thirteenth.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Marc Coma

Chapter 01

Avià

He was born in October 1976 at Avià, near Berga in Catalonia. His father Ricard had finished fifth in the senior class of the Spanish motocross championship, and Marc’s first motorcycle, at eight, was a Montesa Cota 348. He made his name first in enduro: the Spanish junior championship in 1995, a place in the national team in 1996 and silver in the World Cup for Nations, then the under-23 world championship in 1998 and a share in Spain’s World Cup for Nations victory the same year. His first Dakar came in 2002 on an unproven Suzuki backed by his compatriot Carlos Sotelo; he ran as high as seventh before retiring at half distance, and the drive was enough to earn him a place in the factory Repsol KTM team for 2003. He crashed out in 2004 with head injuries, was runner-up to his team-mate Cyril Despres by under ten minutes in 2005 — the year he won the first of his world championships — and in 2006 won the Dakar outright without winning a single stage of it.

Marc Coma being interviewed by Ràdio Berga in Catalonia in 2009, the year of his second Dakar Rally victory. Berga, Catalonia · 2009 Photo: Marc Coma, Berga (2009) by Ràdio Berga / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Coma and Despres

In 2007 he won three stages and built a lead of almost an hour over Despres before a navigational error and a crash with two stages left ended his rally; he took a third world title that year anyway. The 2008 Dakar was cancelled, and he fractured a knee on the second stage of its replacement, the Central Europe Rally. When the rally moved to South America in 2009 he won three of the first four stages and finished nearly ninety minutes clear of Despres. A six-hour penalty for an illegal tyre change ruined 2010 despite four stage wins, but he answered by winning all five rounds of that year’s world championship. A third Dakar came in 2011, by fifteen minutes; the 2012 rally was closer still, the two men separated by under two minutes until Coma lost forty-five to an engine-change penalty. A shoulder injury from the Moroccan Rally kept him out of the 2013 Dakar altogether.

Marc Coma riding his KTM through the dunes near Copiapó during the 2010 Dakar Rally in Chile. Dakar Rally · near Copiapó, 2010 Photo: Marc Coma, Dakar Rally (2010) by Pablo Letelier Parga / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Sporting Director

He came back in 2014 to win the Dakar for a fourth time, and took a sixth world championship the same year with victory in Morocco. A fifth Dakar victory followed in 2015, and in the same year Etienne Lavigne appointed him the rally’s sporting director, a role he held until 2018 — a rare move from competitor to organiser at the top of the event. He returned to the Dakar once more as a competitor in 2020, in the car category, as co-driver to the two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso; they finished thirteenth.

Marc Coma at the press conference for the 2016 Dakar Rally in November 2015, shortly after taking up the role of the rally’s sporting director. Dakar 2016 press conference · November 2015 Photo: Marc Coma, Dakar 2016 press conference by Thesupermat / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Marc Coma Career Timeline: 1976–Present

Born at Avià

Marc Coma i Camps is born on 7 October at Avià, near Berga in Catalonia.

Enduro

Wins the Spanish junior enduro championship.

World Champion

Takes the under-23 enduro world title and helps Spain win the World Cup for Nations.

First Dakar

Runs seventh on a Suzuki before retiring at half distance.

KTM

Joins the factory Repsol KTM team, the marque he rides for the rest of his career.

Runner-Up

Second at the Dakar to Cyril Despres, and a first world championship.

First Dakar Win

Wins the rally outright without winning a stage.

Second Dakar

Wins by nearly ninety minutes as the rally moves to South America.

Third Dakar

Beats Despres by fifteen minutes with five stage wins.

Two Minutes

Loses the rally to an engine-change penalty while under two minutes ahead.

Fourth Dakar

Returns from a shoulder injury to win, and takes a sixth world title.

Fifth, and the Desk

A fifth Dakar victory, then appointment as the rally’s sporting director.

Alonso

Returns as co-driver to Fernando Alonso in the car category, finishing thirteenth.

By the Numbers

Marc Coma Dakar Rally Record, Year by Year

Marc Coma season-by-season record: team, class, stage wins, stage wins to date, dakar wins and final standing.
SeasonTeam Class Stage Wins Stage Wins to Date Dakar Wins Pos.
2002 Suzuki Bike 0 0 0 DNF
2003 KTM Bike 0 0 0 18
2004 KTM Bike 0 0 0 DNF
2005 KTM Bike 1 1 0 2
2006 KTM Bike 0 1 1 1
2007 KTM Bike 3 4 1 DNF
2008 KTM Central Europe Rally 1 5 1 DNF
2009 KTM Bike 3 8 2 1
2010 KTM Bike 4 12 2 15
2011 KTM Bike 5 17 3 1
2012 KTM Bike 5 22 3 2
2013 — — – – – –
2014 KTM Bike 2 24 4 1
2015 KTM Bike 1 25 5 1

Winning years are highlighted; the five highlighted rows are his five Dakar victories and the Dakar Wins column is a running count that closes on 5. The Stage Wins column sums to 25, matching his published career total exactly. He did not enter in 2013, having injured a shoulder at the Moroccan Rally. The 2008 row is the Central Europe Rally, which replaced the cancelled Dakar that year and from which he retired with a fractured knee; note that his published figure of twelve Dakar starts excludes that event while the published 25 stage wins includes its one, so the two published numbers are counted on slightly different bases. Every start and every victory came on a KTM apart from his 2002 debut on a Suzuki. His six FIM Cross-Country Rallies world championships and 31 world championship event wins are covered in the biography rather than here. Figures verified 6 September 2026.

Marc Coma in his own words

In His Own Words
Winning the Dakar 5 times was already a dream for me, but now I realise just how lucky I am: being part of the organising team, with this level of responsibility, is an opportunity for me to put back into the rally everything that the Dakar has given me.
Marc Coma · on being appointed the Dakar Rally’s sporting director, 2015
Frequently Asked

Marc Coma: Frequently Asked Questions

How many times did Marc Coma win the Dakar Rally?

Five — in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015, every one of them on a KTM. He took 25 stage wins from twelve Dakar starts.

How did Marc Coma win the 2006 Dakar?

Without winning a single stage of it. He was consistent enough across the rally to take the overall victory outright, and then defended his world championship that year with five successive event wins.

What was the rivalry between Marc Coma and Cyril Despres?

They were KTM team-mates who shared the motorcycle class for a decade. Despres beat Coma by under ten minutes in 2005; Coma beat Despres by nearly ninety minutes in 2009 and by fifteen in 2011; and in 2012 the two were separated by less than two minutes before Coma lost forty-five to an engine-change penalty.

How many world championships did Marc Coma win?

Six FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championships — in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2014 — from 31 event victories.

Did Marc Coma work for the Dakar Rally?

Yes. Etienne Lavigne appointed him the rally’s sporting director in 2015, the same year he won it for a fifth time, and he held the role until 2018.

Did Marc Coma race with Fernando Alonso?

Yes. He was Alonso’s co-driver in the car category at the 2020 Dakar Rally, where the pair finished thirteenth.

What happened to Marc Coma in 2007?

He won three stages and led by almost an hour over Cyril Despres before a navigational error and a crash with two stages remaining forced him out. He still took the world championship that season.

Where is Marc Coma from?

Avià, near Berga in Catalonia, where he was born on 7 October 1976. His father Ricard was fifth in the senior Spanish motocross championship, and Marc’s first motorcycle was a Montesa Cota 348 at the age of eight.

What did Marc Coma do before rally-raid?

Enduro. He won the Spanish junior championship in 1995, the under-23 world championship in 1998, and was part of the Spanish team that won the World Cup for Nations that year.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Dakar Rally · Amaury Sport Organisation (official)
  2. Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme · FIM (official)
  3. Marc Coma · Wikipedia
  4. Cyril Despres · Wikipedia
  5. Marc Coma (Q523665) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by KozmozInspire. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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