“I return with less expectations!”

At only 27 years of age, Skyler Howes has already made quite a name for himself on the US off-road racing scene (winner of the Sonora Rally, US champion, 5th of the Baja 1000), yet the Dakar was a whole new “monster” when he showed up in Peru last year. The rider from Utah learned things the hard way, slightly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the event. It started with flue, he then crashed and dislocated his shoulder on a liaison after avoiding a youngster on a scooter. Riding with a separated shoulder didn’t however prevent him from battling it out with the big boys and finishing 10th of stage 5. Sadly the following day another crash saw him injure his shoulder again and there was just no way he could pop it back in this time and continue. The American returns with a completely different state of mind. Riding on a new Husqvarna 450, he doesn’t want to put too much pressure on himself. He knows he has the speed but will start with less expectations delighted to be on the same playing field as everyone now the Dakar is in Saudi Arabia.

“I started watching the Dakar with my dad on TV. Then as I was riding with Chris Blais, I got interested in doing it. I was a good friend of Kurt Caselli and he gave me the biggest motivation to go. The first goal was to make it to the start but it was only my third real off-road rally. I underestimated it. The magnitude of the event was huge. I had never used a GPS and was unsure of my navigation so it was pretty frustrating. But that first Dakar was a real eye-opener. It was really tough having to quit, not because of the pain but mostly because it was like letting down all these people who helped me so much. I’m still new in this discipline and I know I need more experience. Last year, I put too much pressure on myself. I was focused on getting a too good result. For this one I have far less expectations and I don’t want to ride with that stress. So I’m planning on having fun and I’m super happy of going to Saudi Arabia, a new country. The bonus of going there is that no-one is familiar with the terrain. We’re all on the same playing field and the big factory teams won’t have such a big advantage. It’s the reason I love rally.”