“I have recovered and the objective is to fight for the Dakar”

Joan Barreda is a Dakar legend. In the 2022 edition, he made history by surpassing the 27 stage victories of the great Jordi Arcarons. With his two stage wins, the Spaniard is now just four wins shy of the Dakar record, 33 held by Peterhansel and Despres. Barreda is the rider with the most stage victories in active service, thanks to his trademark style of aggressive riding, constantly going on the attack in search of victory while not caring about having to open the stage the following day and without the slightest bit of caution. He will employ this same style in his 13th participation on a motorbike. He will aim to finish for the eighth time, but his ultimate goal is what has eluded him so many times: the overall victory. His best result is 5th place in two editions, in 2017 and last year's edition (2022). He came ever so close to glory in 2013, 2014 and 2015, achieving repeated victories, but crashes or mechanical problems prevented him from triumphing. He also fought for the win on the 2021 Dakar but retired on stage 11 when he ran out of fuel and was exhausted after a fall two days earlier. And in 2022, after losing almost 42 minutes on stage one B, he didn't give up and went for it. He made a spectacular comeback, winning stages two and four, reducing his deficit to 14 minutes. Then came a hard crash on stage five. He broke his collarbone and pelvis. It seemed all was lost, but despite the pain, he held on heroically. Even on stage eight, he had to ride for a few minutes with one hand after his collarbone popped out of place. But that didn't stop him from sticking to his strategy and attacking. He finished stage ten only eight minutes behind the leader but had to settle for fifth place. He thus added to his legend. Several previous editions put the Torreblanca rider's endurance to the test. In 2018 he dropped out when he was in second place due to knee and wrist injuries. In 2019, he went off the road at km 143 of stage three and fell into a rocky ravine when he was in the lead. In 2020, affected by a cracked rib in the run-up to the Dakar, Joan rode the first few stages very constrained, and his injury worsened after crashes on days two and four. He experienced mechanical problems but finished in seventh place. Joan is no longer with the factory Monster Energy Honda Team. He chose to spend the first part of the year recovering and has made specific preparations to be at his best for the 2023 Dakar. The 39-year-old rider returns to competition after a year in which he only raced in the 2022 Dakar. But he is now recovered and focused on his goal of fighting for everything once again.

J.B.B: “2022 was a good Dakar. I arrived very well prepared. It was a shame that we lost a lot of time in the opening stage (1B), but I always remained positive and ambitious. Obviously, as I was making up time, there were some small navigation mistakes along the way, but I did my best. I was affected by the crash and injuries I had, but the feeling I had was good. I did a decent job. I broke my collarbone and fractured my pelvis, and I tried to be positive and do the best I could. In spite of that, I was making up time, and there were some stages at the end where I also lost some time because of a navigation error when opening the stage, but the feeling was good”.
“Getting the record of stage wins this year will be difficult. It's not something I've always aimed for, but it's come a little bit just because of my understanding of the rally. But more than that, my goal is to fight for the Dakar. And I don't want to abandon my style. In normal conditions, we have a shot. There is a group of five or six riders that can win. They are all excellent navigators, fast and experienced. I have prepared to arrive at the Dakar ready to be in that group of riders with a real chance of winning. Ultimately, you must avoid mistakes, lose as little time as possible with the navigation, and be well positioned”.