Dakar Series, Despres is packing his bags
"I never forget why I ride motorcycles", starts Despres. "I do it mainly for fun, and for me this means exploring countries or regions where I've never been before. The Desafío Litoral will be an opportunity to see Iguazú Falls, an exceptional landmark I've never visited. I also know it will be really exciting from a sporting point of view". Over the years, the French rider has made a lot of changes to his run-up to the Dakar, replacing traditional rally raids with more exotic races throughout the year. And this works out perfectly, seeing how Despres won the Dakar last January after his Brazilian and Australian adventures. "I now have enough experience to save some energy, take a pass on desert-focused races and look for tough challenges elsewhere. Facing uncharted territory is quite a testing situation. When you don't know what to expect in terms of terrain and rivals, you have no choice but to adapt, which is really good for training." One of the four-time Dakar champion's potential opponents between July 22 and July 28 could be Francisco López, who has also added the Desafío Litoral to his race programme.
View the full route and rules of the Dakar Challenge on www.dakar.com
