A Heroic tale
Team Hero MotoSports achieve a stage win at the 2022 Dakar Rally, the firstever for an Indian team
THE 2022 DAKAR RALLY WAS team Hero MotoSports’ sixth outing at the world’s toughest endurance race. With one stage win and one stage podium, this has been their best ever performance at the Dakar Rally. Seven of the world’s top manufacturer teams battled for the top prize in the motorcycle class. The 2022 Dakar Rally was the most competitive edition ever, with 12 gruelling stages that were spread over 8000km.
2021 was a huge learning curve for team Hero MotoSports, who participated in various other races and constantly kept upgrading their machines. They entered the Dakar Rally fighting several last minute obstacles, one of which included two of their riders — C S Santosh and Sebastian Buhler battling injuries and hence pulling out of the Dakar. Moreover, one of the confirmed riders, Franco Caimi, was also replaced by Aaron Mare just a few days prior to the event after getting injured in training.
The 2022 Dakar, however, turned out to be a watershed event for the team, as they overcame all the challenges and achieved a historic result. Joaquim Rodrigues, delivered his best performance here. Riding stronger than ever, he bagged a maiden stage win and also a third place stage finish. He goes back home proud from his fifth appearance at the Dakar with a 13th position in the overall RallyGP class rankings.
Having performed consistently throughout the rally, Aaron Mare was not far behind, securing 15th place in the overall standings of the RallyGP class. Even though Aaron Mare joined the team as a last minute replacement for the injured Franco Caimi, he adapted to the team and his new bike quickly and proved to be a great team player. His consistent and praiseworthy performance at the 2022 Dakar Rally has earned the young rider attention.
Even though the team rode with only one of their original riders, JRod, the presence of C S Santosh at the camp greatly boosted the team’s confidence and morale. With eight top 10 stage finishes including a first and third position the team head back home, far more confident than they were on arrival two weeks ago.
Next up for team Hero MotoSports is the second race of the year under the FIM World Rally Raid Championship, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge that is scheduled to take place in March 2022. ⌧