Hero MotoSports names Cornejo as new rider, reveals 3-member side for Dakar

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Hero MotoSports Team Rally on Tuesday named young Chilean rider Nacho Cornejo as its new recruit while announcing a three-member team for the Dakar Rally 2025.

Cornejo will team up with Sebastian Buhler and 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) winner Ross Branch.

This will be the team’s ninth appearance in the world’s toughest race, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia from January 3 to 17.

It was memorable 2024 for the young team as it secured an overall second finish.

In the 12-stage 2024 edition, Branch led the race for four days and remained at second spot for eight days, eventually finishing second overall, making Hero MotoCorp the first Indian manufacturer team to make it to the Dakar podium.

For Botswana’s Branch, this will be his third Dakar outing with the team.

Buhler, a German living in Portugal, has given consistent performances this year, marking his biggest achievement by securing his first FIM World Championship race podium at Rally Raid Portugal, where he finished second overall.

At the 2024 Dakar Rally, Buhler came close to winning his first Dakar stage.

Young Chilean rider Cornejo boasts of an impressive Dakar record, including a fourth-place finish in 2020 and nine stage wins.

The 47th Dakar Rally will kick off in Bisha, featuring a prologue and 12 stages spanning 7,700 km across the vast desert. For the first time, five stages will have separate courses for FIM and FIA vehicles, covering 45 per cent of the timed distance.

Dakar 2025 will also be the opening race of the fourth edition of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC).

Hero MotoSports is a Rally GP-class participant at the W2RC 2025, and will attend its five rounds starting with the Dakar, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (February), South African Safari Rally (May), BP Ultimate Rally Raid in Portugal (September), and finally closing the season with the Rallye du Maroc (October).

“2024 has been an incredible year for us. Finishing second at Dakar, a first for any Indian manufacturer, and winning the 2024 World Championship have given us a new level of respect and recognition in motorsports,” Wolfgang Fischer, the team manager said.