- Joaquim Rodrigues secures a place once again
- Franco Caimi and Sebastian Buhler return after injuries
- Ross Branch representing Hero for the first time
Hero MotoSports, the motorsport team of Hero MotoCorp, is all set to compete in the Dakar Rally for the seventh consecutive time. Interestingly, Hero will be the only Indian two-wheeler manufacturer to be present in the competition for which it has announced its rider line-up.
Representing Hero MotoSports at the Dakar Rally 2023 will be a group of four riders. The most experienced of them is Joaquim Rodrigues who will be participating in the rally for the seventh time and has been with the team since its inception. Joining Joaquim are Franco Caimi and Sebastian Buhler both of whom missed the 2022 season due to major crashes but are back with optimum health. The fourth rider is Ross Branch who is representing Hero for the first time. However, he has raced over four seasons before which also included a stage win in 2020.
The Dakar Rally will be held in Saudi Arabia once again. This edition will take place over a course of 15 days comprising a total of 14 stages which means two stages more than before. It will be flagged off on 31 December 2022 in Jeddah and will culminate at Dammam on 15 January 2023. Also, the team will be competing astride the Hero 450 Rally machine which gets a few changes to meet the revised regulations, including the maximum allowed top speed of 160kmph.
