Stefan Svitko is a European enduro champion and #1 in the Slovak republic, as well as winning 2nd stage in the 2016 Dakar.

He’s known by many to be a complete weapon on 2-wheels, yet little is known of him in the English-speaking world. Frontaer aims to provide more insights.

Štefan Svitko

For more than 30 years now, Štefan Svitko has been twisting the throttle pretty damn hard and winning championships. After all, he started riding at a very young age and never looked back in his quest to be dominating in the sport of competitive enduro and motocross.

Unlike many who waste time in their lives, we have someone here who put in the hardyards early on in his career. Clearly it’s paid off very well, after coming 2nd in 2016 and 11th most recently in 2020 during the Dakar Rally.

His successes are tied in with the SLOVNAFT Rally Team who choses the KTM 450 Rally Replica as their baseline. This is one seriously popular bike and KTM only makes a few hundred of these each year for the most daring of competitors.

Unlike most who choose the typical high visibility orange, Slovnaft has a unique styling to their motorcycles. We’re talking yellow on black with some hint of orange to remind us of what lays beneath the surface.

The Toughest of Training

In order to sit in the saddle for days on end and cover the vast distance in the Dakar Rally, Štefan has had to put himself through a gruelling fitness regime. As you’ll see from his Instagram, this all didn’t come easy.

In addition to hitting the gym regularly, much of the training demands routine practice runs through the desert. This is where injuries can happen just as they can through competing. Luckily, Štefan has been relatively unscathered so far.

We do look forward to see him enter and get back into the top 10 in the 2021 Dakar.

Rafal Sonik is one of the best known rally car riders and quad bike riders to have come out of Poland. Truly a man on a mission!

He’s also one of the oldest competitors to have entered the Dakar Rally, and one that he’s done out of passion and love for the ATV sport.

Read on as we detail more about Rafal’s journey.

Rafal Sonik

In his early life, Rafal didn’t exactly grow up riding motocross unlike most other skilled professionals. Instead, he was a professional skier given that he lived in a snow-ridden country.

It was only later in life that he really opened himself to competitive racing. Prior to this, he had been pretty competitive in the world of business having owned a sports store as a teenager and a McDonalds restaurant. Following this, he had built a company dedicated towards constructing and managing large shopipng centre projects.

But that’s not all! He has interests in property development, the IT sector and book selling. Clearly a man that’s on a mission and we can see such pursuits lend themselves well to competing professionally.

Competiting at the Dakar Raly

Rafal is the first Polish competitor to have stood on the Dakar Rally podium at all, having come 3rd in 2009, and the first one to repeat this success with another 3rd place in 2013.

Of course…this was the lead up to the highlight of his career. Rafal Sonik was the winner of the Dakar Rally in 2015. Clearly some of the talent learned from building big businesses translated well to the world of twisting the throttle hard and working out the rest later.

Polish Association of All-Terrain Vehicles

Given the limited riding areas of ATV vehicles in Poland, Sonik addressed this by starting this enterprise to protect the interests of riders in the country. He’s the founder, funder and former president of this non-for-profit organization which aims to promote the sport and open up more areas in which to ride.

That isn’t all. He’s also the President of the Clean Poland Association. Each year they organize a mountain-cleaning operation designed to remove rubbish from key areas of significance. That’s quite a philanthropic effort right there!

Clearly it’s passion + persistence + enthusiasm which has contributed to his success, paired with remaining committed to crossing the finish line. We’re looking to seeing what the future holds and his developments for this sport, both nationally and internationally.

Andrew Short is a former motocross/supercross star turned rally raid competitor made famous through his numerous race wins.

Today he continues competing, instead turning his attention towards enduro racing. He is one of several North American riders to compete at the legendary Dakar Rally.

Read more as we share about the life of this fiercely competitive rider, yet one with a calm attitude.

Andrew Short

It’s give you an overview including his riding history, relationship status and notion for injuries.

Like most riders, Andrew grew up behind the handlebars. He was winning races early on as a teenager and got started into the world of professional motocross and supercross.

Many have said that he’s spectacular on his dirt bike and has left the competition to dust. From this, he has certainly filled the trophy room with some prizes and inspired many of today’s youth to get away from the devices and get behind the handlebars instead.

He previously rode a modified Husqvarna 450 Rally in the Dakar and one that is sponsored by Rockstar Energy, though in 2020 has moved over to Yamaha’s race team. He hasn’t really done as well given the very different terrain than compared to what he is used to, yet isn’t down the bottom.

Motivation for Kids

Andrew is big on inspiring the next generation of riders to get going in the sport and sustaining themselves over the long term.

For those with families, his advice is to get them heavily involved with the sport at an early stage. You meet new and interesting people and stories that you’ll never forget that easily.

It’s not just motivation for kids either. As adults, we may never never ridden a dirt bike before in our lives, yet we can be inspired by the pursuits of those riders who have developed insane skills on 2-wheels. Andrew Short is one good example.

If you’re looking to be inspired, or inspire your kids, then look no further.