“If you make one mistake, you're out of it!”
RIDER FACTS
- One of the most talented bikers in the Rally GP field, Skyler Howes is gearing up for his sixth Dakar and his second as part of the Monster Energy Honda Team.
- Born in California and raised in Utah, the 32-year-old learned to ride on a 1974 Honda XR75 that his father recovered from an auto salvage yard.
- He turned pro in 2012 and began to impress on the national offroad scene. Encouraged by American stars Chris Blais (a former Dakar podium finisher) and Kurt Caselli, he took up rally-raid in 2018.
- Skyler had a rags-to-riches journey from privateer to professional. He crashed out on Dakar debut in 2019 but roared back to come 9th in 2020 as a privateer for Klymciw Racing. He then went all in at Dakar 2021 to earn a factory contract (selling prized possessions including his bike from 2019) and did just that, coming 5th and penning a deal with Husqvarna Factory Racing.
- Skyler's best Dakar performance (3rd) came with Husqvarna in 2023. After a stellar build-up which included wins at Vegas to Reno, the Rallye du Maroc and the Sonora Rally, the American led the Dakar for six days and finished 5'04" behind Kevin Benavides, who won by just 43 seconds from Toby Price!
- Skyler has had a mixed start to life with the team. He crashed out of his first event in Morocco, then had to retire from Dakar 2024 due to a mechanical issue during the 48H Chrono.
- In August 2024, while competing with teammate Ricky Brabec at Vegas to Reno, Skyler had a high-speed crash and suffered a compound ankle fracture - although he points out that it could have been much worse. Consequence of this big crash, he finished 8th in W2RC.
- In his hometown of St. George, November 4 is 'Skyler Howes Day' in honour of his achievements.
2025 AMBITIONS
S.H.: "My crash at Vegas to Reno was probably the biggest I've ever had in my life. I was doing 145 kilometres an hour down this road and there was a big river crossing, but no physical danger marker. I hit it at 145 km/h and had a big G-out, fully compressed, then went straight over the handlebars. My left foot got stuck in the rear tyre, so when I hit the ground the bike went one way and the foot went the other. It looked really traumatic, way worse than it actually was. I was flown to hospital in Reno and they basically said, your foot is disconnected so we just have to pop it back in. And that was that. It was a total bummer to miss Morocco though. The competition is strong and most importantly you can test the bike, check all the settings are right for the big one in January. This will be my second Dakar with Honda. They care a lot about us. The difficult thing about being a racer is that things change quickly. In the lead-up to my Dakar podium in '23 I was damn near undefeated, I was on this really good upswing. But since then, I've had a tough couple of years with injuries and mechanicals. Still, you have to keep a sense of perspective. I try not to get frustrated. I just focus on what's ahead and learn from the past. To have a poor Dakar is frustrating, but even to get there and race is a dream come true. Luck is preparation meets opportunity, so you have to be as prepared as possible. At Dakar a lot of it is luck. You do the best you can and you have to be happy with whatever result it is. The navigation now is way more difficult than it was in South America. There's so much information that interpreting the roadbook is much harder. Back in the day, every turn was a note in the roadbook. Now, there are three or four notes within a single note. You have to slow down to make sure you read it properly or you'll go the wrong way. We know we can push to the maximum, survive, come back to the bivouac and recover. The level is so high now that you cannot make a mistake. If you make one mistake, you're out of it! We have to be perfect and 100% all the time."
