N°136 Moto HT RALLY RAID HUSQVARNA RACING
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WESTON CARR

(usa) 1.93m / 99kg

Loisirs

Spending time with family and friends, riding or driving anything (with or without a motor), traveling, archery, golf

Sponsors

Buffalo Ridge Concrete, Lyndon Poskitt Racing, HT Rally Raid

First participation

2023: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (14th, Rally 2) / Sonora Rally (Ab.) / Rallye du Maroc (37th, Rally 2)
2022: Hellas Rally

Interview

“I love to be challenged”

Weston Carr is preparing to become the latest ambitious American to tackle the Dakar. The 47-year-old from Minnesota has been riding a bike for most of his life, and was inspired to take up rally-raid after watching the “Races to Places” series produced by British rider and adventurer Lyndon Poskitt, who completed the Dakar three times in South America. After making his debut in the sport at the Hellas Rally 2022, Weston was put in touch with Henk Hellegers from the renowned HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing team, and lined up at this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with an eye on qualifying for the Dakar. Despite a host of early crashes and some issues with nutrition, he managed to finish 14th in the Rally 2 class. He had even more misadventures at the Sonora Rally, including a damaged motor, melted bib mousse and a missing fuel filter. On the second stage in Mexico, he also found himself sharing the broom wagon with the bikes of elite factory riders Sam Sunderland and Skyler Howes, who had both unfortunately crashed out. He also reached the finish line of the Rallye du Maroc, having by that time secured his entry for Dakar 2024. The rally comes at a good time of year for Weston, who runs a ready-mix concrete business and has a busy work season from April through November, splitting his time between Minnesota and South Dakota. All three of his children have ridden with him, although he suspects he may have put his daughters off by introducing them to tough single-track riding at an early age. He also jokes that he can’t keep up with son anymore! Weston is a fan of extreme outdoor activities such as bow-and-arrow hunting, and likens riding a bike in the desert to riding his snowmobile in remote areas of the Rocky Mountains. He says he is up for the physical challenge of the Dakar, and hopes to inspire a few people back home by making it successfully through to the finish line on his debut.


“I got my first bike when I was like seven. I bought it for 25 dollars from a farmer I was milking cows for! So that kind of fuelled my fire right away. My brother had a bike and we used to mess around, riding across the countryside for hours and hours. We did that endlessly. I got a street bike in my late teens, then moved away from offroad stuff for a few years. I got married and had kids, then I got a big Honda XR650L when I was 24 or 25, something my kids could ride with me. Somewhere in there I was riding a street bike in Arkansas with friends. We saw 100 dirtbikes come by and asked them what they were doing. Something called the Arkansas 500, a dual sport ride where you follow a GPS at your own pace. And one of my buddies said, “I know what we’re doing next spring!” That was 2016, when I bought my first KTM. Then I started watching Lyndon Poskitt’s “Races to Places”. That’s where it all started for me, as far as rally goes. When Lyndon got done with his worldwide tour, he bought some bikes and said he was going to develop rally schools, so I signed up immediately. The first time I rode a rally bike was in Spain in March 2022, then I went to Lyndon's training camp and fell in love with it. I joined Lyndon and some other riders for the Hellas Rally, which was my first taste of competition. I finished with a good result and felt I wanted to do more. I realized I liked riding the bikes, but now I was somewhat addicted to the competition. With Lyndon’s help, I got hooked up with Henk Hellegers at HT Rally Raid. I started working with them and got everything lined up to do Abu Dhabi, which went really well. But I knew I needed more experience to get my invitation to Dakar. I went to Sonora Rally. I love to be challenged, and I love not necessarily relying on other people too much. I’m into things that are more challenging that most people want, like bow-and-arrow hunting or snowmobile riding. It turns out reading sand dunes is a lot like reading the snow in the mountains! So I don’t have a lot of physical concerns. I’m doing the Dakar to prove to myself that I’m up to that challenge.”

Véhicule

HT RALLY RAID HUSQVARNA RACING

HUSQVARNA 450 RALLY REPLICA
HT RALLY RAID HUSQVARNA RACING

  • HUSQVARNA
  • 450 RALLY REPLICA
  • HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing
  • HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing
  • Rally 2

Classement 2024

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