Barreda To Hero For Dakar 2024
Cycle News Staff | November 7, 2023
Long-time Honda rider Joan Barreda has joined Indian manufacturer Hero for the 2024 Dakar Rally.
The 40-year-old, third on the all-time Dakar stage winner’s list with 30 victories but no overall titles, will partner Botswanan Ross Branch, Portuguese Joaquim Rodrigues and German Sebastian Buhler.
The acquisition of Barreda to Hero represents something of a full circle move for the Spaniard. The Hero team is run by former Husqvarna partners Speedbrain in Stephanskirchen, not far from the Austrian border in southern Germany, and Barreda’s signing means he will be reunited with team manager Wolfgang Fischer for the first time since 2012.
The factory Hero Motorsports team finished the 2023 World Rally Championship in fourth position outright, claiming two stage wins in the 2023 Dakar Rally with Branch at the helm. CN