“It's really great to be doing the Dakar with my brother”

Jim Pearson is preparing for a special kind of Dakar debut in 2023. Not only will the 55-year-old be tackling the fearsome Original by Motul class, he’ll be doing so alongside his younger brother David and a team of riders from the US, all hoping to become the first from their country to conquer the assistance-free category. Jim originally hails from Canada, although he emigrated to the US back in 1989 and acquired citizenship in 2006. He has been riding bikes since childhood and developed a taste for offroad racing in his mid-20s, going on to compete in events like Baja 1000 and Vegas to Reno. He and David are fans of travel and adventure, and they actually went to South America to follow the Dakar on bikes in 2014. A few years later David began to talk seriously about taking part in the world's biggest rally, and thus in 2023 the two brothers will be lining up as part of the five-strong American Rally Originals crew. As well as being an experienced rider, Jim is an accomplished mechanic, which should make him a popular figure on the Original by Motul stand. Having taken time away from work to travel the world, he has visited no fewer than 30 countries in the last year and a half -and if all goes to plan at Dakar 2023, Saudi Arabia is sure to be one of the most memorable places on the list.

“My inspiration for getting into riding was childhood friends that had bikes. Then our father started to ride street bikes and we followed suit, first with a moped and then road bikes. In my mid-20s I found that I needed more maturity on the street, but I still wanted all the excitement, so I started offroad riding which quickly led to competitions. I started following the Dakar in the early 1990s and started dreaming of competing after success in offroad competition in the mid-2000s. In 2014 we chased the Dakar on adventure bikes in South America. It got serious in 2017, when my brother David said it was a goal of his to compete. I said, 'Well then, we're going to have to learn the game!', and I signed us up for our first five-day rally. I'm confident about getting through Dakar 2023. I’ll put my best effort in each day and manage the energy it takes to see the finish. I'm a self-taught mechanic. Growing up with limited means drives you to be self-reliant. Plus I get a lot of satisfaction and enjoyment from solving the problem and fixing it. It's really great to be doing the Dakar with my brother. We've been competing and adventure riding all over the world. These activities give us a common bond, many stories, huge amounts of effort and commitment, a reliable companion when it gets hard, and a connection and closeness that makes it wonderful. The comradery with all the riders and drivers is fantastic, this is what keeps us always thinking… what is the next race or adventure?"