A Dakar hero arrives at Hero Motosports

Joan Barreda Bort is a Dakar legend. In the 2022 edition, he surpassed the 27 victories of the legendary Jordi Arcarons, and last year added another triumph to take his total to 29 stage victories on a motorbike to slot in third all-time, just four behind the record of 33 held by Peterhansel and Despres. Barreda is the active rider with the most stage victories, thanks to his unique riding style: aggressive, always on the attack, not caring about having to open the track the next day and not conserving. This year, he is heading for what he considers his last Dakar, his 14th participation on a motorbike, his first after joining Hero Motosports after a decade with Honda. This year, Joan has set himself the goal of placing Hero on the podium or the Top 5 of the toughest rally-raid in the world. But his main objective is to study the performance of his new machine to lead its development after the Dakar, as he steps away from competition. On the 2024 Dakar, 'Bang Bang' is looking to finish for the 8th time and is no longer thinking about the goal he has fallen short of so many times: the overall victory. His best result is 5th place in 2017 and 2022. He came very close to glory in 2013, 2014 and 2015, achieving repeated stage wins, but crashes and mechanical problems prevented him from triumphing. He also fought for it on the 2021 Dakar but dropped out on stage 11 when he ran out of fuel and weakened by a fall two days earlier. In 2022, he broke his collarbone and pelvis on stage 5 when fighting in the leading group and heroically held on to finish in 5th place. In 2023, when he was 8th overall, a heavy fall on stage 9 on a cut dune resulted in fractured vertebrae, forcing him to retire after fighting for victory for many days with severe pain due to a broken big toe on his left foot. He thus added to his legend of overcoming. Several previous editions had already tested the Torreblanca rider's endurance. He withdrew in 2018 when in second place due to knee and wrist troubles. He was in the lead in 2019 when he went off the road at km 143 of stage 3 and fell into a rocky precipice. In 2020, affected by a cracked rib in the run-up to the Dakar, Joan rode injured, which worsened by crashes on days 2 and 4. He suffered mechanical problems but finished in 7th place. During 2023, he preferred to prioritise his rehabilitation and will arrive at the 2024 Dakar with the motivation to demonstrate the speed of his new Hero.

J.B.B.: “On the 2023 Dakar, stage 9 was the most important, and maybe I attacked too much. I was in a great position. There were many cut dunes in the first part of the stage, and even some cars got airborne. I jumped from one small dune to another, and ten metres later, there was a big cut dune. That forced me to take a more defensive position on the bike. I released the brake, jumped into the air and hit the seat without the cushioning on my legs. That's what fractured my vertebrae”.
“My time with Honda was over, and Hero offered me a very nice and exciting project. Especially because they want me to lead the bike's development and the navigation for the future, which is what I'm most excited about. When they proposed the project, I first told them that I wanted to prioritise my rehabilitation before accepting. And eventually, we signed the contract. We have done a lot of tests in Namibia, Spain, Morocco and the United States to rack up a lot of kilometres on this bike. The bike has already shown that it can be competitive, and I'm going to the Dakar with a ton of enthusiasm and motivation”.