Hero MotoSports announces a two-rider team for Dakar 2022

India's CS Santosh & Sebastian Buhler from Portugal, are not a part of the team as both riders are still recovering from their injuries.

Hero MotoSports Team Rally will participate in Dakar 2022 with a two-rider team. India's CS Santosh and Sebastian Buhler from Portugal, are not a part of the team as both riders are still recovering from their injuries. The former had a crash in Dakar 2021 whereas the latter suffered an injury at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

This will be Hero MotoSports Team Rally's sixth consecutive participation in the Dakar rally. For the 2022 edition, the team will have a two-rider squad that includes Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues and Argentina's Franco Caimi.

Rodrigues came onboard the Hero MotoSports team in 2016. He had his best-ever finish in Dakar in 2021. He also achieved his first FIM Championship podium at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the same year.

Caimi recently had a podium finish in the Silk Way Rally. Although he has participated in Dakar multiple times in the past, this will be his first time with the Hero MotoSports team.

Dakar 2022 will take place from January 1 - 14 in Saudi Arabia. Over the period, the rally will have 12 stages consisting of different cities and terrains. Riders will be covering 8,000 km in total, including the liaison stages. Out of the total 430 vehicles participating, 149 are motorcycles.