Tim Trenker's quest to become a world champion will begin this morning when he lines up for the Pharoans Rally in Egypt.
The Dubai-based motorcyclist leads the World Championship Open Production Trophy of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and only needs to finish the gruelling event, which covers more than 2,500 kilometres, to take the title.
Good performances in the opening three events of the season, which included victories at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and in Tunisia, have put the German in a strong position to claim his first global crown. But with impending success awaiting him, the 35-year-old, acknowledges it has left him in two minds on how to approach the event.
"It is a nice situation to be in knowing that I only need to make it to the finish to become the champion," he said. "How I tackle the event is difficult as I know that I have to finish so I do not want to take too much risks to jeopardise my chances. We are here to race so I feel I will just try and treat it like any other rally and take it day by day, but be relaxed if I am overtaken or have a problem, being able to look at the bigger picture and what we are competing for."
Trenker, who is riding for the KTM-UAE team, is looking forward to riding in Egypt, which will include parts of the Sahara Desert in its itinerary, and winning the title there will have special resonance for him. "It will be quite an emotional journey for me if I can become a champion in Egypt," he said. "The first rally that I competed in was in Eygpt in 1993 and it will complete my journey in the sport in a nice way if I can do it there.
"I do love riding there as it is a real challenge. The terrain is always difficult, be it sand, or going through stones, it is all demanding on you and the bike and you have to have to be prepared for anything out there. "The fact that I am not having to go for victory does make things a little easier, but with it being a multi-terrain event I am not going to be able to relax for one moment." Trenker is hoping to follow the example of teammate Marc Coma, the four-time Dakar Rally winner, who is riding for the KTM Factory team and leads the main championship standings.
The Spaniard only needs to finish to be champion, and Trenker added: "I will be looking to see how Marc handles things and rides and trying to learn from how he approaches it as he is very experienced." Today's opening stage of the event is 250km with the event running through until next Saturday.
