KTM Adventure Rallye Returns to NZ – Again!

By all accounts, the fourth annual KTM New Zealand Adventure Rallye contained some of the most picturesque and awe-inspiring riding in the event’s short but notorious history, as the 2019 edition travelled from the ocean to the mountains and back again, with a record number of entries along for the ride. Here’s an excerpt of KTM Australia’s PR about the event and a few ‘choice images, bro’…

Marking the Rallye’s second time on the South Island, a total of 137 riders and 30 support staff started from ‘sunny’ Nelson in torrential rain, looping through Murchison, Hanmer Springs, Picton and then arriving back in Nelson on the final day of the five-day adventure.

As part of the 2019 KTM NZ Adventure Rallye, a qualification process took place to find two lucky riders to represent New Zealand at the KTM Ultimate Race, which will be contested at the 2020 Merzouga Rally in Morocco – an all-expenses-paid trip to compete on a factory-prepared KTM 790 Adventure R Rally alongside competitors from the five other countries that host KTM Adventure Rally events was the prize. Challenges included a bike lift and wheel change on day two in Murchison, in addition to navigation and waypoint challenges on days three, four and five that tested riders’ GPS and social media skills. There were also timed special test challenges on day three at the beautiful Lake Station and again on day five at Manaroa. In the end, the New Zealand riders who secured the elusive qualifying positions for the KTM Ultimate Race were Mark Dando and Matt Kneesch.

A full event photo gallery from the 2019 KTM New Zealand Adventure Rallye is now available online. An event teaser video will be released next week, and stay tuned for the full-length feature, which will be coming soon.

For further information on KTM Adventure Rallye events, click here.