A wind of change is also sweeping through the motorbike category. The Indian manufacturer Hero has lofty ambitions, spearheaded by the world champion, Ross Branch. At the same time, all eyes are on the Spanish wunderkind Edgar Canet, already on the KTM top-tier team at the tender age of 19.
ROSS BRANCH: RISE OF A HERO
It is high time the anomaly were corrected. Despite being the most consistent rider in the 2024 W2RC, Ross Branch, the reigning champion and Dakar runner-up, did not win a single race last season. In fact, his otherwise impressive CV includes only one rally victory, to wit, the 2021 Rally Kazakhstan. This year, the Botswanan is taking on the Dakar with the number 1 plate that signifies his status as world champion. He is determined to prove that it was no fluke over the twelve stages leading to Shubaytah: “The slate has been wiped clean and everyone is starting from scratch. Lots of people say carrying the number 1 adds pressure, but I see it as an honour. One thing’s for sure, we’re all in it to win it, and I’m definitely not here to finish second”.
Hero MotoSports, aiming to become the seventh motorbike manufacturer to win the Dakar, is stacking the deck with talent. Joining Branch is the Chilean Nacho Cornejo, with ten Dakar appearances under his belt at just 30 years old, who will be the back-up leader of the Indian squad. “After so many years, it doesn’t hurt to change teams, it brings a fresh boost of motivation”, explains Cornejo, who jumped ship from Honda after six seasons in red. “We’ve got three fast riders [including Sebastian Bühler]. The team is strong and I hope things go well for all of us in the Dakar.”
DANIEL SANDERS: “I’M HERE TO HELP KTM RETAKE THE TROPHY”
Daniel Sanders sidesteps the question of whether he could become the second man from Oz to win the Dakar. “This will be my fifth start, and I’ve never even finished on the podium. We’ll see… It’s going to be a tough race with a gruelling first week. You’ve got to start strong and avoid mistakes.” Of course, “Chucky” dreams of following in the footsteps of fellow Australian Toby Price, who won in 2016 and 2018 —and it is not a pipe dream. He is now racing for KTM, the same team that catapulted Price to his triumphs before he moved on to four wheels.
Moreover, Sanders is firing on all cylinders after claiming the Rallye du Maroc last October. “Last year, I went into the Dakar still dealing with the sequelae of a broken leg and didn’t really get my hopes up”, he points out. “It’s all water under the bridge now. I’m physically ready and I love our new bike. It performs better both in the sand and on rocky terrain.” Now as a KTM factory rider, “Chucky” has stepped into the role once held by Toby Price and is embracing the weight of expectation. “Riding in orange means representing the mothership”, says the rider who competed last year under the GasGas banner, another brand within the Pierer Mobility group. “I’m here to shine and help KTM retake the trophy.”
KTM’s bid for a twentieth Dakar victory is guided by the team manager, Jordi Viladoms, who has assembled a strong line-up. Alongside Sanders are the two Benavides Bros., although a shadow of doubt lingers over Kevin following a nasty mid-season injury. Looking to the future, he has also introduced the rising star Edgar Canet. The 19-year-old Catalan, who finished seventh at the Rallye du Maroc, is the baby of the field.
ORIGINAL BY MOTUL: FEWER TYRES, HIGHER STAKES
For Original by Motul entrants, riders bold enough to tackle the Saudi desert solo, the winds of change are blowing hard at the Start Camp in Bisha. The 2025 rules impose stricter limits on the use of spare wheels, tightening the screws on an already demanding category, as well as making seasoned veterans eligible for the classification again. One of them, Benjamin Melot, a five-time Dakar veteran as a motorbike mechanic with seven entries in Original by Motul, spent last year sidelined from the standings due to his past results.
Now back in contention, the Frenchman sees these changes as a welcome shake-up: “I finished second in 2020 and took third twice (2021 and 2022), but last year I couldn’t chase my goal of finally winning, even if only once. The new rules put me back in the rankings and add some spice to the challenge. These days, bikes are so reliable that there’s less and less maintenance to do. The limit of six sets of tyres won’t be too bad, I generally used eight. The real difference is that we have to fit them ourselves and, more critically, are limited to just one set of spare rims.
A 10-minute penalty will apply for each additional spare rim used, like if you break a front wheel, which is the most common issue. This will force us to manage things more carefully: on the course, to avoid trashing the rims, and in the evenings, deciding when to reuse a tyre to save fresh ones for later stages”. The man from Jura has his sights set on the OBM title. Echoing previous editions, he will have to contend with rivals of the calibre of Emanuel Gyenes, Javi Vega and Jérôme Martiny.
RISE OF THE DRAGON
When it made its Dakar debut back in 2023, the Chinese manufacturer Kove stunned the rally world by bringing all three of its motorbikes, with riders from the Middle Kingdom in the saddles, across the finish line. For its sophomore appearance last year, Mason Klein made an indelible impression by taking the fight to the front-runners in the early stages on a new-generation Kove… before withdrawing in stage 6. This year, Kove is back with 11 motorbikes on the entry list, tying with Honda as the second-largest contingent in the motorbike category —a meteoric rise that matches the pace Mason Klein hopes to set as the lead rider for Kove Factory Racing, alongside his teammate Neels Theric. “For me, the bike feels different, mainly because I’m not using the same suspension as last year.
The chassis and engine have also evolved. It’s nimbler and more stable in the big valleys, which is super important for my confidence. I’ve spent months on the bike, putting in hours and hours. All that experience will come in handy.” A satellite team led by Sunier Sunier and several amateur riders rounds out the Kove armada. Following closely in Kove’s tracks is Hoto, a newcomer to the Dakar; with three motorbikes in the race, Hoto brings the total number of Chinese-made entries to fourteen, amounting to 10% of the motorbike field! Hoto —a phonetic rendition of the Chinese word for ‘camel’— has developed its own chassis and is fielding its debut machines equipped with KTM engines. The Hoto Factory Racing team features two former Kove riders, Xavier Flick and Fang Xiangliang, as well as Arūnas Gelažnikas, a two-time winner in the Original by Motul class (2021 and 2022). Sunier Sunier’s 46th place overall in 2022 remains the top result for a Chinese motorbike in the Dakar and the mark to beat in Shubaytah.
