Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Honda has announced that it will participate in the 2022 Dakar Rally on January 2nd, 2022. Honda’s racing team, the Monster Energy Honda Team, will race in the 1st round of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. The team has stated that it aims to win the Motorcycle division of the championship for the third consecutive time. The team has chosen renowned rider Pablo Quintanilla who will race alongside Ricky Brabec, Jos Ignacio Cornejo, and Joan Barreda.
For the 2021 edition of the Dakar Rally, the Monster Energy Honda Team utilized the same driver line-up. Ricky Brabec, age 30, who hails from the USA, achieved an overall impressive 2nd place in the 2021 season. Meanwhile, Pablo Quintanilla, aged 35 from Chile, Spain, finished an overall 7th in the rider’s standings during the 2021 Dakar Rally. Sadly, Jos Ignacio Cornejo and Joan Barreda could not finish the 2021 edition of the Dakar Rally. For the upcoming 2022 season, the Monster Energy Honda Team will offer the Honda CRF450 RALLY bike to its riders.
With its inception in 1979, the Dakar Rally is also known as the world’s most gruelling motorsports event. First being hosted in South America, the venue then made its shift to Saudi Arabia for the 2020 season. The 2022 Dakar Rally will feature as the opening round of the inaugural FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
Meanwhile, Honda made its first appearance at the 3rd Paris Dakar Rally in 1981 and achieved victory in 1986. After winning consecutively for the next 3 years with its NXR750 bike, Honda withdrew from the event in 1990. The team returned for the Dakar Rally of South America in 2013 along with its CRF450 RALLY bike. Honda achieved victory for the first time upon its return in 2020 and also secured victory in the 2021 season.
In November 2021, Honda conducted the 2nd round of the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2021 to showcase young racing talent. Hosted at the Aruani Grid in Bengaluru, the event featured 14 shortlisted amateur riders from 8 cities in India. These include Bengaluru-Karnataka, Tirupur and Karur-Tamil Nadu, Kolhapur-Maharashtra, Kannur, Kottayam, Thrissur, and Perinthalmanna-Kerala.
Also Read: Hero MotoSports all set for 6th consecutive Dakar Rally