“This is my year”

The love of riding in sand: that’s what really pushed Ben Young to go for the Dakar this year. The fact it was going to be entirely run in Peru is what convinced the Australian to take on the challenge. A solid and experienced rider who this year notably finished 18th of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and 24th of the Morocco Rally comes with one idea in mind: to have fun. Enjoy the riding and the atmosphere within the Duust Rally Team. On a KTM 450 RR, Young aims at reaching the finish line and doesn’t want to be distracted by a result.

“To be honest the Dakar was never on my radar. But I love riding in sand and I heard that it would be entirely in Peru so I thought, this is my year. That was the main inspiration. It’s of course an event I’ve always watched, supporting the Australians in front of my TV. Toby Price with whom I competed was also super supportive. I had to do the Dakar at least once in my life. Being 47 with a full time job, I prepared in the best possible way but it can’t be full time. The goal is to finish. I’m not looking at the result. I don’t want to worry about what’s ahead. I just want to have a good time and laughs. It’s also great to be in the Duust team. I have Polish heritage so it’s good fun to be around the guys from the team. My wife is cool about me going on the Dakar. She just says: do what you’ve got to do.”