KTM Announces 2012 FMF/Bonanza Plumbing/KTM Baja Team

MURRIETA,
Calif. – KTM Motorsports is proud to announce its four-member 2012
Baja Racing Team. The riders will include: Kurt Caselli, Ivan
Ramirez, Mike Brown and Quinn Cody.

KTM
returned to Baja racing two seasons ago with support from outside
sponsor Bonanza Plumbing. For 2012, KTM will remain linked to Bonanza
Plumbing but will also invest more resources internally to put forth
a true factory effort in the series and hope to take home the victory
at the most premier Baja event of the year, the Baja 1000.

Caselli,
the reigning WORCS and Hare & Hound Champion, has shifted his
focus to desert racing for the 2012 season and has already dominated
the first two rounds of the Hare & Hound Series. He raced the
Baja 1000 for the first time in his professional career in 2011 and
is excited about the opportunity to head the team moving forward to
2012. “I really enjoy desert riding and I feel like the Baja 1000
is the most premier desert race a team can win. I am happy that I am
given the chance to represent KTM at this level,” remarked Caselli.

Caselli
will be joined by RPM/KTM support rider Ivan Ramirez. The two riders
plan to team up for the San Felipe 250 which will be held in March as
the first race of the SCORE/Baja Series. Ramirez, was born and raised
in Mexico and has many racing accomplishments in his home country and
many supportive fans that are excited to see him aboard the KTM
Factory team.

Mike
Brown will also join the team. Brown started his career as a
motocross rider where he had much success including a 125 MX National
Championship. For the past few years he has transitioned to the
off-road world winning a WORCS title and finishing 2^nd
in the 2011 EnduroCross Series. This will mark his first year riding
the Baja events. “I am very excited to race Baja. Anytime I can get
on my bike and race is a good day and this is a challenging team
event that I am very happy to be a part of,” stated Brown.

The
fourth and final spot on the team will be rewarded to Quinn Cody. The
most experienced Baja team member, Cody has already collected 4 Baja
1000 titles and 2 Baja 500 titles. He is also a former Dakar Rally
Rookie of the Year and was a member of KTM’s Baja effort the last
year the team competed at the factory level.

“I
could not be more excited to be a part of KTM’s new Baja program.
With 2012 being one of the most competitive years in Baja racing
history, I am looking forward to applying my experience to the team
to help put KTM on the top of the podium,” stated Cody.

The team
will compete aboard the 2012 450 SX-F. The dual-overhead cam,
carbureted engine has been very successful in Dakar Rally racing.
Team Manager, Antti Kallonen, commented, “We are very fortunate to
receive support from the KTM Factory in Austria. The team will
receive the same engine as the Dakar team runs and we feel that motor
is perfectly designed for the challenging conditions of Baja racing.”
He continued, “Returning to the Baja series at the Factory level
has taken a lot of organization and has provided challenges to each
team member, however, we are confident that with the support of our
sponsors and our factory help that we can put our team in contention
to win this years Baja 1000.”