After 12 years with KTM, Orion – Moto Racing Group has switched to Kove. Milan Engel will debut the team’s Kove 450 Rally EX at this weekend’s Baja Aragón before competing at the Rallye du Maroc and 2026 Dakar Rally.

Although KTM proved to be reliable, the team did not get any factory support. Kove Moto, on the other hand, was willing to provide it to the Czech outfit.

“We were in contact even before this year’s Dakar,” explained team manager Ervín Krajčovič. “They were interested in working together, and we said that we’d figure something out only after Dakar 2025. In March, we sat down at their base in France, discussed everything, and ended up taking the motorcycle and two boxes of spare parts to get acquainted with everything and try it out.

“It’s a big step, and we will have to learn a lot of things. We’re getting to know the new technology and at the same time have to give time to all the processes come with it. We’ve consulted with our partners on everything and no one was against it; quite the opposite, actually. Our next goal is not only sporting success, but to expand cooperation in sales and service of the Kove brand and the 450 Rally EX model.”

After testing back home in the Czech Republic, the team brought the Kove to Spain for Baja Aragón. Besides racing with Kove’s support, MRG also hopes to use their alliance to develop new parts and further improve the bike.

For example, Engel’s bike for Aragón uses brakes from Czech manufacturer GOLDfren. He noted the Kove is lighter and has a sturdier chassis than his KTM 450 Rally Replica, while the engine is also stronger.

“We want to work together on the Kove 450 Rally to create a light, powerful, and as durable a motorcycle could be as possible,” Kove racing technical director Felix Tao commented. “With Orion – MRG, we want to maintain intensive and long-term cooperation on all fronts. We are looking forward to and excited to welcome the Czech team to our family.”

Engel has 11 Dakar Rally starts to his name, including finishing 13th in Rally2 at the latest edition in January. The team also fielded KTMs in Rally2 for Malle Moto runner-up Jaromír Romančík, Bartłomiej Tabin who placed 39th in class at his Dakar debut, and Martin Prokeš (69th) while Martin Michek retired as a RallyGP rider.

Featured image credit: Orion – Moto Racing Group