I had to rebuild myself but it was worth it

Overcoming a broken back, eating 9,000 calories a day and facing a challenge that has claimed 79 lives – this doesn’t sound like fun but Oran O’Kelly insists finishing the Dakar Rally is his dream come true

WHEN Oran O’Kelly was seven, he had a dream. Sitting on a dirtbike competing in motocross, he wished that one day, he would take part in one of the world’s most prestigious — but treacherous — motorsports events, the Dakar Rally.

Fast forward 23 years, and Oran’s dream has just come true. The 30-year-old has just completed the 8,000km gruelling race, which this year stretched from the shores of the Red Sea to the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula on the coast of the Arabian Gulf.

‘It’s the equivalent of getting in a car and driving from Dublin to Cape Town,’ explains Oran, who is now 18th in terms of the World RallyRaid Championship — Dakar is one part of a series of five competitions. ‘But in terms of difficulty, it’s much like climbing Mount Everest.’

Distance aside, it’s the conditions of Dakar — from its challenging off-road terrain, the highest mountains to the most dangerous of sand dunes, all while enduring the extreme weather conditions of Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia — that gives the race its dangerous, even deadly, reputation.

Since 1979, some 79 people have been killed at Dakar. The latest fatality is Spanish motorcyclist Carles Falcon, who died last week after being involved in a crash in the second stage of this year’s rally.

The route is designed to be physically and mentally challenging, so it’s no wonder that

‘Dakar is the same as doing 14 Ironmans in a row’

this year it had less than a 50 per cent completion rate. Oran understands this better than most. He’s the first Irish person to partake in Dakar for 15 years, and he’s spent the last three years preparing and training for it — even breaking his back attempting to qualify last year.

Despite reaping the rewards now, it’s been a long, tough road for Oran, who has quite literally thrown everything at the chance to fulfil his childhood dream. He sold his Irish car valeting and concierge business and moved out to the United Arab Emirates just before the pandemic to pursue his passion of competitive bike racing.

‘Last year I was working for Audi at Dakar cleaning toilets and driving a campervan,’ says Oran. ‘So yes, it was a huge risk, all of it.’

Oran actually spent the first 11 years of his life in UAE before returning with his family to live in Malahide, Co Dublin.

‘I grew up with four brothers and we were all into motorsports — we were super-competitive,’ he explains. ‘But I didn’t really race from the age of 11 until I moved back out to the Middle East just two weeks before the pandemic hit. People thought I was crazy, putting everything I had into this,’ he shrugs.

Although Oran, who races with the Vendetta team, is having the last laugh now, you can see why his loved ones might have taken issue with his major life change. Competing in Dakar is not only risky, it’s eye-wateringly expensive, with entrants needing about €120,000 to finance their quest, from the cost of the qualifying races to training, a top-spec bike, tyres and equipment.

Oran was proactive in getting partners and sponsors on board — primarily O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey — and also raised funds through organising an event in the Helix with presenter and biker Charley Boorman — star of 2004 biking documentary Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor — who himself attempted Dakar but had to pull out after two days due to injury. They sold over 500 tickets.

When it came to being physically prepared, Oran enlisted the help of a Tour De France coach and embarked on three and four-hour training sessions a day.

‘Dakar is the really the same as doing 14 Ironmans in a row,’ says Oran of the two-week race, during which after exhausting days he slept in a tent.

He was accompanied by a support truck driver, a mechanic and his greatest supporter of all, his dad, petrolhead John, who Oran credits with introducing him to motorbike racing in the first place.

‘A lot of people think being on a motorcycle is just sitting but you’re constantly moving and wrestling this very heavy device that’s bouncing and jumping,’ he says. ‘You’re in a strong quarter-squat position for most of the day to control the bike, so you need that stability, plus a huge amount of balance and coordination.’

Oran lost 7.5kg during his Dakar journey, which saw him on a bike for up to 16 hours a day and eating 8,000 to 9,000 calories to fuel his energy daily. He ate nearly his body weight in porridge every morning too.

‘I would feel sick in the morning, and in the evenings just have to try to get as many calories and carbs into me as possible,’ he says.

Was there ever a day he felt like quitting? Oran candidly admits that yes, there were plenty. In fact, the very first day ‘almost broke’ him.

‘Almost every day, or at least every second day, I was wondering was it worth it — but that’s what the race is designed to do,’ he reveals. ‘The stuff they put us through, I didn’t think was possible. The first day, I spent two and a half hours going at a snail’s pace, like less than 5km per hour, through some of these massive boulders — the only way I can describe it was like trying to cycle a bicycle on an ice skating rink.

‘It was so slippery, I must have come off the bike 50 times and in the end I was 100 per cent sure I was lost. Then when I got to the end of the section, after about 20km, my navigation system confirmed that I was in the correct place,’ he smiles.

The covert navigation adds to the competitiveness of the event. A roadbook provided by the organisers is handed out only at the start of each stage. This means the course remains a secret until the last minute, ensuring it’s all unfamiliar territory.

‘Anyone can go fast in a straight line but being able to navigate in the correct direction under challenging conditions is enormously demanding and cognitive fatiguing,’ he says. ‘Often your brain blows out sooner than your body.’

Indeed, the secret of Oran’s tenacity on the Dakar track lies not just in his skill and strength as