"I hope to have a future in rally-raid"
En bref
- Preston Campbell is a talented rally-raid newcomer who is gearing up for his Dakar debut with the Honda HRC team.
- The 26-year-old is the son of American off-road legend Johnny Campbell, a Hall of Famer with a record 11 overall titles at the iconic Baja 1000. Johnny also did the Dakar on a bike (coming as high as eighth on his 2001 debut) and in the cars, as a navigator for Robby Gordon.
- Preston grew up riding in the California desert and travelling to races with his dad, which sparked his own desire to compete. At age 16-17, he began competing in local desert races, working his way up to events like the National Hare and Hound series, Mint 400 and Vegas to Reno.
- He only got his first taste of rally-raid at this year's Sonora Rally, but showed he means business by securing overall victory! He continued building towards the Dakar at the last two rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), posting solid results at the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal (10th) and the Rallye du Maroc (14th).
- As part of Honda HRC, the satellite team for Monster Energy Honda HRC, Preston was able to pick up lots of useful advice from top factory bikers Ricky Brabec, Tosha Schareina, Adrien Van Beveren and Skyler Howes in Portugal and Morocco. He has also been training with compatriots Ricky and Skyler in the US ahead of Dakar 2026.
Ambition
P.C.: "This year I did my first rally-raid at Sonora, just to see if I liked it, and I had a blast. The competition wasn't super crazy like in the W2RC, but I was happy to ride without any penalties or huge mistakes. I was so nervous because I had to open on four of the days and I had no idea what I was even doing! But I gained a lot of experience there. Then I had a great time in Portugal and Morocco. It was awesome to experience new places and every day it felt like I was learning something new. The other HRC riders were also really helpful. My dad has given me some good advice about what to do, but he's also given me quite a bit of space. He's never put too much pressure on me, he just lets me do my own thing. His attitude is kind of, just go do your best and put your full effort in, don't give up. I think his best result was eighth in 2001, so getting seventh would be amazing! (laughs)I'm excited to be at Dakar, to see what it's all about. I don't know exactly know what to expect, but I know it's going to be long and tough. I just want to have a good race and do as well as possible. Most importantly I want to finish, but I would love to get a great result at the end. I look forward to hopefully riding the full championship next year. I've got to get through the Dakar first and see what happens, but I hope to have a future in rally-raid."
