“A Dakar riding without injury or illness would be nice”
En resumen
- A long-time competitor in the iconic Isle of Man TT, James Hillier returns for his third Dakar in 2026.
- He made his 2023 debut in the punishing Original by Motul class, becoming the first ever TT competitor to finish the Dakar.
- Back with a team for 2025 and aboard a Kove, he was hoping for an easier time after his first Dakar outing was marred by a dislocated collarbone on the fifth stage. Alas it wasn’t to be, with James struggling with illness for much of his second attempt.
- Encouraged by his father, James started out in Trials before tackling the TT for the first time in 2008 and taking home the Newcomers Trophy.
- He has done the TT every year since, winning the Lightweight race in 2013 and claiming 15 podiums, his most being 3rd in the 2025 Supersport TT. In 2023 he improved his career best lap speed to 132.703mph, making him the fastest rider on a Yamaha around the Mountain Course.
- In the TT James runs number 5, while at this year's Dakar he is number 50 - "so there's a kind of connection". His signature race number is 37.
James made his rally-raid debut at the Andalucia Rally 2021 (15th), then did the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2022 (20th).
Ambición
J.H.: “My TT riding mates think I’m a bit mad doing the Dakar ‘for fun’ but as they’re all a bit mad themselves I take no notice. For me it is all about being on my own in the middle of nowhere on my bike. Unlike at the TT there’s no pressure on the Dakar for me to achieve a result, it is more like a somewhat masochistic and very expensive hobby that will hopefully fill the adrenaline void when I eventually stop road racing. When I look at the stage results, I’m more interested in whether I’ve got any penalties, than how high up the leader board I am. Being in the Top 50 would be nice but no penalties means I haven’t missed any waypoints and have been bang on with the road book and that’s really important to me. For some reason that I can’t really explain I’ve become a bit hooked on the navigation aspect of the Dakar. I suppose at some level I must also like the hardcore aspect of my January ‘holiday’. If the TT is the toughest thing you can do on a motorcycle on tarmac, then the Dakar is its off-road equivalent, though if I’m totally honest I’d rather go with a team than in Malle Moto. It is just that going with a team is a lot more money and I’d much rather go in the Original by Motul category than not at all. Plus, in Malle Moto we push each other along. When you hear your neighbor open their tent at some ungodly hour in the morning you say to yourself: ‘Ok he’s not giving up, so nor am I’. Fortunately, my wife is very laid back and tolerant. I’m sure she’d prefer it if I played golf but she’s given up trying to understand why I want to go so much. I try and sweeten the pill by telling her that it is an investment in the future, because given how much I like navigating and am reasonably handy with a spanner, I wouldn’t mind having a go as a co-driver one day.”
