From Douglas to the Dakar
TT front-runner James Hillier embarks on a new challenge as he takes on Dakar in the most gruelling class of all
Not content with racing in the world’s most extreme road race, TT winner James Hillier is set to kick off a new challenge by racing in the 2023 Dakar – the world’s most extreme off-road event. The 37-year-old will put it all on the line to compete in the Original by Motul class where riders are allowed no outside assistance, sleep in a tent and have to maintain their own bike.
While Hillier is a skilled off-road rider and part of road racing’s elite, his rally experience in minimal. In fact he’s only competed in two rallies – Andalusia and Abu Dhabi – but took top 20 finishes in both.
So what is it that attracts him to the two biggest stand-alone events in motorcycling?
“I don’t really know. I’m still trying to figure it out!” he smiles. “I think it helps me understand and find myself. I just need a fix, I need to feel that I’m on the edge a little bit, I don’t like feeling too safe… too comfortable. It’s weird because I don’t mind feeling like that on a motorbike, where in other areas of my life I do. If I get a letter through the door from HMRC it makes me feel uncomfortable. If I’m doing something risky on a motorbike, I feel oddly comfortable!
“It means I’ll be doing Dakar and TT in the same year, which is pretty mad. There’s no room for error in either; you can’t afford to make a mistake, but I think the chances of not coming back from TT are higher than they are at Dakar.”
Another difference is the length of time in the saddle with monster 600km-plus days common place in the 14-stage event.
“My biggest challenge will be dealing with the lack of sleep, but I know that adrenaline will sort me out once I start riding. I’ll sleep when I can, eat when I can and keep the bike in as good a shape as possible. I don’t want to waste time talking sh*te to people, I need to be quite disciplined with myself.”
And in terms of what success looks like for Hillier, year one is simply about making it to the finish and from there, who knows?
“I accept that I might go and never want to do it again, but I don’t think that is going to happen,” he says. “I want to get to the finish and I don’t want to be last. It would be good if this was the start of a new venture – I think the shelf life of a Rally rider is a little bit longer than that of a TT rider.”
‘I’ll be doing Dakar and TT in the same year’