Toby Price and Sam Sunderland are the two big absentees in the motorcycle field because they hope to finish the Dakar rally together in a car (T1+ Toyota Overdrive). It is a great challenge for the duo who trust that the experience as motorcyclists will be a big plus. The motorcycle duo hopes for a top-ten ranking.
These gentlemen’s absence provides some opportunities for the rest of the field. For example, Honda has an emerging talent from Spain who may see opportunities. Tosha Schareina from Valencia, Spain, completed his Dakar debut in 2021 with a 13th place and second-best rookie. He did not participate in 2022, in 2024 he won the prologue promisingly but crashed in stage 1 and was immediately done. Let’s see if the Honda rider has learned to curb his enthusiasm a bit so that he can reach the finish line this year.

In addition to KTM, Honda has the biggest club of contenders with it to the start in January. Pablo Quintanilla, Ricky Brabec, Adrien van Beveren, Skyler Howes, and the previously mentioned Tosha Schareina. The American Ricky Brabec will want to defend his title and he may have to fight with a teammate. Since 2013, Quintanilla has been doing his best to win but he has not gotten any further than a few stage wins. Van Beveren has also been designated as the favorite for the final victory. The French “sand specialist” came third last year and will want to surpass this. Skyler Howes, perhaps the crowd’s favorite with his mustache as a tribute to his father and grandfather, rode his first “real” rally on the Honda at the last Rally du Maroc. This sympathetic rider could do very well.

No GasGas and Husqvarna factory teams this year. The “daughters” of KTM are represented, but only by some Privateers and the HT Rally Raid team, but we will come back to that in a moment. The orange brand from Austria is currently having difficulties and is working hard to keep the iconic brand afloat. KTM and the Dakar rally are inextricably linked and fortunately, that ensures that the Austrians are coming to Saudi Arabia with a nice factory team and are definitely going for the win. The fact that Husqvarna is not participating with a factory team is good news for Kevin Benavides because he now sees his brother Luciano Benavides next to him on a KTM at the start. Luciano came third in the 2024 Rally du Maroc and, like his brother, is seen as a contender. The same Rally du Maroc was won this year by Daniel Sanders, the third rider for the Red Bull KTM factory team and a lot is expected of this Australian top rider.

Then there is the Italian brand Fantic. Often seen as “the underdog” but Jeremy Miroir, last year’s best rookie and the winner of the women’s classification Jane Daniels, both rode a Fantic. This Italian brand got all three participants to the finish. Jane Daniels, who took the win back to England, became a mother this year so she is skipping a year. Fantic has found a replacement in Sandra Gomez from Spain.
No Dutch riders (as far as we know). How sad but true. There are no Dutch riders on the starting list of the Dakar rally again while the Dutch are often found in the better amateur rallies. Where we do find a Dutch touch is of course the BAS World KTM racing team of the true Dutch Bart van der Velden who, with his assistance team, has put together well-prepared KTMs for ambitious riders without a factory team behind them. Bradley Cox, Mathieu Doveze, Francisco Arredondo, and Michael Docherty confidently get on the Dutch-prepared motorcycles and keep an eye on Bradley Cox for the future. This young dog is eager and could surprise you.

We can say the same about Henk Hellegers’ team. Since 2005, his HT Rally Raid has been participating in the Dakar rally as a seasoned service team with riders from all over the world. The HT Rally Raid motorcycles are Husqvarnas and they will be at the start in January 2025 with 5 riders. The international group is in good hands with this team and also keep an eye on Aaron Mare. He won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with Hero. What will he show with the Husqvarna of HT Rally raid?
Finally, we would like to mention “our” Mirjam Pol. She is currently fighting a completely different battle. Long Covid has her well and we will have to miss her again this year. Get well soon Mirjam!