"If you finish on the Dakar podium, you can probably win it"

Skyler Howes has emerged as one of the world's best rally bikers in recent years, but his route to the top has been anything but straightforward. Growing up in south Utah, he learned to ride on a 1974 Honda XR75 that his father recovered from an auto salvage yard. After making a name for himself on the US offroad racing scene, he turned pro in 2012 and was given his first big break by Chris Blais, who came third in the bikes at Dakar 2007. Inspired by Chris and fellow American legend Kurt Caselli, Skyler eventually lined up on the world's toughest rally in 2019, after years of watching on television with his dad. Dakar 2019 saw him hampered by stress, illness and crashes, with a shoulder injury forcing him to retire, whereas Dakar 2020 ended with a remarkable ninth spot overall, despite a broken neck in the build-up. Skyler returned in 2021 with the renowned BAS World KTM team and went all in to land a factory contract, selling off most of his possessions -including his bike from Dakar 2019- to fund his entry. The gamble paid off as he came fifth, ultimately earning himself a contract with the Husqvarna factory team. A dream-come-true moment. A year ago he showed he truly has what it takes to conquer this event. In a fascinating three-way tussle with Kevin Benavides and Toby Price, he led the rally for six days and was only 28 seconds off top spot with two stages to go, but some late strategic errors meant he had to settle for third place behind the Argentine and Australian. In summer 2023, Skyler left Husqvarna by mutual consent and joined what he describes as the "iconic" Monster Energy Honda Team, which in many ways is a return to his roots. He spent much of his early career on a Honda, claiming game-changing wins at the Baja Rally and Sonora Rally on a 450X. Unfortunately, he had a rather inauspicious start to life on the Honda CRF450 Rally, crashing out on the Rallye du Maroc prologue in October. On the flip side, he avoided any ligament or nerve damage. It was a mixed season for the 31-year-old in the World Rally-Raid Championship. After his superb podium at the Dakar, he came sixth at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, crashed out of his 'home' race, the Sonora Rally, missed Desafio Ruta 40, and took that early spill in Morocco. But even if he doesn't come into the Dakar on red-hot form, he remains a top contender for Honda's red armada.

"If you finish on the Dakar podium, you can probably win it. It comes down to refining your racecraft and learning from previous mistakes. Last year there were two different days where I tried a strategy that didn't work out, so I can put that knowledge into practice this year. So much at Dakar is up to chance. That's kind of the beauty of the rally, it always has something new for you. Every single day, you go out there thinking 'this is my strategy'. But that stage, that desert, has its own plans for you. I think I'm just going to go back to my original mindset, just have fun with it. You have to minimise the mistakes and just keep moving forward. I led the rally for six stages last year and was in the top three for most of it. I know I can win it. I'll take the stuff I learned in 2023 and apply it to 2024. I'll aim to catch the guys in front of me and just do the best I can.
It was always kind of a dream to ride for such an iconic team as this, so to end up here is a highlight of my career for sure. In this sport you have so many things that can and will go wrong, and crashes are part of it. But to crash on the very first day out with the brand-new team, that's not the way you want it to go! Luckily, it should be a pretty easy recovery. It's definitely cool to have an American teammate, and especially one I grew up so close to. Ricky and I were competitors for a lot of our lives, and pretty fierce ones. We've been rivals and now we're teammates. We're going to train together, our strategies are known to each other, it's a bit of a change! But even though you're on the same team, you still want to beat each other."