“Very hard to make predictions on such an unpredictable race”

Bruno Bernardes is a busy man. He’s the CEO of his family’s packaging business. He’s also the father of two small children aged 4 and 7 (this interview done while he was watching his son play football). Fortunately his family are very supportive of his motorcycle racing. His wife will be coming with him on the race in January and his wife’s family will be looking after the kids while they are away. A keen sportsman who likes to stay fit by cycling he’s been racing enduro for the last 12 years. His rally ‘career’ started back in 2019 when he finished 15th on the Merzouga Rally in Morocco. He then DNFed on the 2021 Rallye du Maroc before winning his Dakar place on the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge by finishing 5th in Rally2.

“It is not easy to work, look after my family and train all at the same time. I have to get up very early in the morning to be able to fit it all in. I was hoping to win the Road to Dakar Challenge (where you get a free entry to the Dakar) on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, but I just missed out on it. Fortunately I have help from a few sponsors including a motorcycle shop, Momento TT and Husqvarna Portugal. If everything goes according to plan I’d like to finish in the top 25, but obviously it is very hard to make any predictions on such an unpredictable race.”