Profile of MICHAEL DOCHERTY - BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM - Dakar

N°22 Bike BAS world KTM racing team

MATHIEU DOVEZE

JACOB ARGUBRIGHT

MICHAEL DOCHERTY

(zaf) Born on 29/07/1994 / 82kg

Hobbies

Cycling, Off Road Riding & Training

“I need to prove that I also have the consistency”

RIDER FACTS

Michael Docherty started racing motorcycles at the tender age of 6 and at 8 won the South Africa National 65cc Championship. Since then, he has had considerable success in the discipline, racing in the States, Europe and the Middle East.
Dubai based these last 8 years, he entered his first rally-raid, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in 2021, going on to win the Rally 2 class. He was back again in 2022 and won the prologue and the first stage before crashing out on Day 2.
In 2023, with help from SRG Motorsports in Dubai and HT Rally Raid he finally got himself to the Dakar. On day 3 he dislocated his wrist but still went on to win 4 stages in Rally 2, finish 3^rd of the category and win the Best Rookie award.
The Dakar 2024 should have been the edition where it all came together for Michael but instead, he ended up in the helicopter on Day 2. He was back for the Abu Dhabi Challenge and won Day 1 before taking another helicopter ride on Day 2, this time with a fractured hip!
After such a disastrous year, October’s Rallye du Maroc was make or break time. Happily, for the introspective South African, his race went according to plan, with a third place in Rally 2 while running with the big boys (Rally GP) to finish 10th overall.

2025 AMBITIONS

“It's been a very difficult year, with too many crashes and too many injuries. I think if I hadn’t been able to finish the 2024 Rallye du Maroc we would have had to have a serious look at the future. As it was, the last round of the W2RC went pretty much according to plan and once again I showed I had the pace. Now I really have to get a solid finish on the 2025 Dakar. Finding the budget to race rally-raid as a privateer isn’t easy and not sustainable in the long term. The problem is that to attract a factory ride you have to show your worth and that means pushing the envelope, with the risks that entails. I think now all the decision makers know I have the speed. What I need to prove to them is that I also have the consistency. Hopefully a solid 2025 Dakar with a win in Rally 2 and a Top 10 Overall result will unlock a few doors.

Vehicle

BAS world KTM racing team

KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA
BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM

Mark KTM
Model 450 RALLY REPLICA
Engine 449 cm³ single cylinder 4 stroke
Frame twin cradle in steel
Power approx. 70 bhp
Weight 139 kg
Tank capacity 34,5 litres
Performance tuner BAS World KTM Racing Team
Assistance BAS World KTM Racing Team
Class Rally 2

Ranking 2025

All news of M. Docherty

Number 20 for KTM

KTM has won the bike category for the 20th time, reinforcing its position of constructor with the most Dakar titles. The Austrian firm won 9 of the thirteen specials on this edition of the rally (5 for Daniel Sanders, 2 for Luciano Benavides and 2 for Michael Docherty). Honda completed the rally with 3 stage successes (won by Adrien Van Beveren, Ricky Brabec and Tosha Schareina),...

Docherty wins stage 12

Michael Docherty has produced the best time on the final special of the 47th edition of the Dakar, 3’’ ahead of Adrien Van Beveren. As a result, the South African has picked up his second stage success in the bike category (after stage 10) and his fourth in the Rally 2 class on the 2025 edition.

Schareina wins in the Empty Quarter

Tosha Schareina has won stage 11 ahead of Luciano Benavides (by 33’’) and Adrien Van Beveren (by 57’’). The Spaniard has picked up his second stage success on the race following the prologue of the 2024 edition. He is the seventh different winner on the 2025 edition after Daniel Sanders (the prologue plus stages 1, 2, 4 and 7), Luciano Benavides (stages...

Two bikers have completed 100 km

The first bikers have completed 100 km of the special, which is still being opened by Michael Docherty and Rui Gonçalves. They are now fifty kilometres from the finishing line on today’s special, which was shortened to 152 kilometres this morning.

Gonçalves opens with Docherty

Michael Docherty has not opened the way alone for long. The South African has been caught up with by Rui Gonçalves, who set off three minutes later. The two men are now opening the stage, with Tobias Ebster pursuing them.

Docherty starts

Stage 10 winner Michael Docherty is opening the special today and the South African began the special at 10.30.

Docherty opens the way

Yesterday, Michael Docherty won his first stage on the Dakar. The South African, who will open the way this morning, became only the second Rally 2 rider to win a combined bike special since Danilo Petrucci in 2022. After his fall and injury in stage 1, the South African, who lives in the neighbouring Emirates, found his way back to his favourite hunting grounds....

When opportunity knocks, Docherty and Roma answer the door

FOCUS

The Empty Quarter has to be earned. Dakar entrants had to wait until stage 10 to frolic on its dunes. The field rolled out of Haradh before the sun peeked over the horizon to tackle a road section of more than 500 kilometres en route to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. The time had come to surf a sea of dunes, where the Big Kahunas rule the waves, for 117 kilometres...