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Honda Announces Its 2022 Dakar Rally Team


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Honda will return to the 2022 Dakar with a new rider lineup. Coming along once again is Monster Energy, which has been supporting Honda’s team for the last four rallies.

This time around, Honda will field four riders, who are well known in the Dakar paddock.  Each brings their Dakar experience, tremendous riding skills that include Dakar stage, and rally wins.

Ricky Brabec

Returning and leading the Honda squad this year is Ricky Brabec.  He has already garnered a reputation as a top-level competitor in only a few Dakar competitions.  Brabec won the Dakar in 2020 and finished second in 2021. Unfortunately, Brabec’s four stage wins during the 2021 Dakar just weren’t quite enough to earn him the top podium position.  But with a Dakar win already under his belt, Brabec will be gunning for his second win in this year’s rally.

Brabec had this to say about the upcoming 2022 Dakar Rally:

2021 has been a lot of training so far. Unfortunately we are still in the Covid crisis, so not much racing going on. I don’t mind training more than racing. It’s always good to race and stay competitive, but also doing a lot of training is also good. I can train really close to my house so it makes it super easy and super beneficial to train for Dakar 2022.

We were very close to achieving another win in 2021. Unfortunately two major setbacks haunted us the whole rally in doing so. Like we said – we know how to train and know exactly where to start off, just learning from 2019 to 2020 to 2021. This year, in preparation for 2022, we know where to start training and we know how to progressively train. I’m looking forward to seeing how it has helped us.

Obviously, the main goal is the Dakar for any Honda rider. We have four really good, strong, confident riders. Unfortunately I want to win, but so do the other three. If one Honda wins, or two, or three, or, just one gets on the podium -it’s a team effort and a team win. So as a whole, that’s our main goal, to win the Dakar again.

Honda Dakar

Ricky Brabec

José Ignacio Cornejo

Next up is José Ignacio Cornejo, a young 27-year-old rider who finished 8th in last year’s event.  His finish was bittersweet, having led 3 days of the rally and taken home a stage win. However, Cornejo looks to improve on 2021’s finish and take the top step in 2022.  Speaking about his cross country rally experience and the impact of the pandemic, Cornejo is just enjoying his riding:

The real pressure was when I was a privateer. I had to try to make it to be a professional. I didn’t have the resources. I’m having fun. I’m living the dream. Racing professionally for HRC. Fighting to win the Dakar Rally – the most important rally in the world. I just don’t feel the pressure.

The Atacama was really good training for what was coming. Good conditions and good routes. I had a lot of fun.

The pandemic? We thought that we would have more races, but some of them were cancelled or postponed, so it’s still not a normal year. It was better than last year. I’ve been able to do some testing and some normal training and some races with the team. Last year we just did one before the Dakar. It was better than last year for sure.

cornejo.jpg

José Ignacio Cornejo

Joan Barreda

Joan Barreda is well known in the Dakar paddock.  He needs no introduction as he holds the highest number of stage wins in the Dakar motorcycle category.  Barreda hopes to keep on stringing up stage wins until he can stand on the top step of the podium at the Dakar finish line.  Training has been one of Barreda’s fundamental goals, and he talked about this and his Honda team:

I tried to do a good job throughout the whole season. We started the year with the Andalucian Rally and we did a good job. We were also racing close to my house in Baja, Spain. It was a great rally and I showed some good speed. It was good training to do all that work. This year we worked a lot especially on the second week of the Dakar. It’s a long race – different from the other rallies. I think we work well. We are trying to be in good physical and mental condition. We are trying to take care of all the small details. With all this together, with a really good bike and a great team, we are sure we can do a good job.

Barreda.jpg

Joan Barreda

Pablo Quintanilla

New to the Monster Energy Honda team this year is Pablo Quintanilla.  A two-time Dakar podium finisher, and two-time Cross Country Rally Champion, Pablo will look to add a Dakar victory to his resume of impressive wins.  Quintanilla is looking forward to racing with Honda as a team that has already won the Dakar:

I feel really happy and excited to be part of the team. For me it is an honor to be part of the team that already won the Dakar in the last edition. For me it’s something that I have been searching for all these years. The atmosphere in the team is really nice. The relationship between the riders, the mechanics and all the people who work here is really nice. It is an honor to be part of the team.

I think that all the riders want to win the Dakar. We come every year with the ambition to win the race. For me it’s a special feeling. I’ve already finished second and third in the race. For sure I want to win. But the important thing is to improve my skills and pace to have the chance to be able to win. For me it is important to have a big team behind you. Some things you can prepare for yourself before the race, but the other thing is that you have the correct team, with the correct people and the right bike to make it happen. I want to win. I will prepare for the victory. I will do my best as always. I will give it 100% every day and every stage. I hope and I wish this dream comes true.

Quintanilla.jpg

Pablo Quintanilla

The Dakar Rally is not far off and will be held from January 1, 2022, through January 14, 2022.  Honda looks to be well prepared for the world’s most challenging race.

Vezi sursa

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