“I love staying on the bike for up to 24 hours, it’s my life”
En resumen
M.H.
- Markus Hertlein owes his first experiences on a motorcycle to his uncle. He still remembers the rides he took as a child on his uncle's BMW R100R and R1100RS. His enduro debut came in his late teens (16/18 years old). He dreamed of the Dakar as soon as he discovered it, and he hasn't missed a single edition since.
- Although he had long been interested in rally-raid, the German rider first did a lof of enduro and extreme enduro. That is, until he tested the rally bike of his friend Mike Wiedemann, a three-time Dakar competitor. The starting point of a new chapter in his career. He has since completed his three rally-raid events: the Hellas Rally, the Rallye du Maroc, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
- Markus tackled the Moroccan race with Mike Wiedemann and Maxi Scheck in true malle-moto style, with nothing more than a trailer and a tent. He can easily picture himself doing the Dakar under those conditions. But for his first attempt, he is placing his trust in the expertise of the HT Rally Raid crew. Since the team switched from Husqvarna to Honda, he is making the change as well. He has the ambition to bring home the finisher’s medal for his two children… and for the third one who will be born just after the Dakar!
- “Bikes are my life,” Markus often repeats. And not only as a hobby. In addition to competing in prestigious races (Erzbergrodeo, Red Bull Romaniacs…), part of his professional life is dedicated to motorcycles: he runs his own enduro travel company, and is also a teacher in an off-road school.
- The German house builder (that’s one of his jobs) is currently in a race against time: after crashing while training in November, he spent nearly two weeks in a Moroccan hospital due to a ruptured spleen and other complications -rib pain, stomach bleeding. When he returned to Germany, only a month and a half before leaving for the Dakar Rally, he was still in pain all over. Before arriving to the finish line, there is now a first goal: making it to the starting line.
Ambición
M.H.: “Dakar was one of the events you could watch on TV, and every year it was a good reason to sit in front of the TV in January! Bikes are my passion and my life. Twenty years ago, Dakar was already in my mind, but it felt far away, and I started to do enduro. Two years ago, I met a friend, Mike Wiedemann, and I had the chance to ride his rally-raid bike. At that moment, it no longer felt so far, and it seemed possible to me! Navigation was completely new to me, but I think I managed to learn it quite fast. I like long days, long distances. I’ve already done 24-hour races, and I love staying on the bike for up to 24 hours. It’s my life. We trained with the new Honda in Portugal, and it was very important as the bike is very different from the Husqvarna. More than what I thought! Before my crash in November, I thought I could maybe finish in the first half of the competitors; between 50th and 30th would have been a nice result. But now, I have to take care of my body. That’s why my main objective is to recover and to finish the race, even if I aim for a good result. Doing the Dakar was already a big challenge; now, with this situation, it’s an even bigger one.”
