“I want to continue aiming for around 20th place”

One of the most talented riders the Czech Republic has produced in recent years, Jan Brabec is preparing for his sixth Dakar in the bikes. After getting his first BMX at the age of four and winning his first Masters title at seven, Jan began riding motocross with support from his father. His old man even flew him out to the US as a 12-year-old to get advice from Casey Johnson and Jeremy McGrath, one of the legends of the sport. Jan went on to claim 10 national titles in motocross and supercross, as well as competing on the international stage. He discovered cross-country in 2017 after striking up an Instagram conversation with top trucks contender Martin Macik, and ended up making his first three Dakar appearances for Martin's Big Shock Racing team. After a solid debut in 2018 (39th place), he was on course for a top-20 finish in 2019 until being slapped with a nine-hour penalty for a navigation mistake. Later that year, Jan suffered a huge crash in training in Tunisia, but despite suffering seven broken bones and internal bleeding, he still managed to line up at Dakar 2020 and reach the finish line in 54th. The Hustopece native rarely lets adversity get in his way; after abandoning Dakar 2021, he had another nasty crash at Baja Aragon, but once again defied expectations to make it to Dakar 2022. A year ago, he enjoyed his best run to date, finishing 23rd overall and fourth in the Rally2 category. He even went viral for holding the longest wheelie of Dakar 2022 at 12:20 seconds, an achievement he has since immortalised in t-shirt form. After a strong season -which saw him avoid any major mishaps and finish sixth in Rally2 at the World Rally-Raid Championship- Jan is now keen to show he has what it takes to finish inside the top 20.

"I feel good! I spent two weeks in Dubai with Stefan Svitko, had a bit of rest for Christmas, and now it's time for Dakar. Let's get it done. Dakar 2022 was pretty good, even if I was riding at I would say 80%. At the three previous editions I had all sorts of issues, like a rear tyre exploding and other stuff. But the result was pretty good for me. I want to continue aiming for around 20th place. The season was good. I finished sixth in the W2RC, then took third spot with a French team at a 24-hour race. So I think I'm ready to ride, ready to have a good Dakar. I like the route, although it's going to be fricking cold in the early stages, especially on the liaisons! But I like the look of what's coming up in the Empty Quarter."