At the last minute, the driver from Castellón joins what may be his last adventure through the deserts of Saudi Arabia aboard his Japanese machine, which has accompanied him since 2014.
It’s a couple of days until the Dakar Rally 2023 start and in the motorcycle category Joan Barreda from Castellón will be present. At the last minute the pilot motorcycling He made the decision to participate in what may be his last high performance competition. For the eighth consecutive year he will do so representing Honda.
The doubts that Barreda had about participating in the Dakar Rally 2023 They were based on his hip injury that he suffered in the 2022 edition. Even with the blow, the Torreblanca driver finished in fifth place, achieving his best mark for the second time. In 2017 he also came in fifth position. Dynamite, as some call it, has enormous expectations for this new adventure.
Joan Barreda assures that he reaches 100% to run the 2023 Dakar Rally
After finishing the 2022 Dakar Rally, the elite motorcyclist did not compete officially as he underwent several hip and wrist surgeries. For the 2023 edition, the man from Castellón ensures that he reaches 100% both physically and mentally. And it is that there were several who advised him to retire but he took strength from where there was none.
How has the preparation of these last weeks been? This responded Barreda. “It has gone very well. The last two months I have ridden a lot of rally bikes and training difficult navigation to try to recover the rhythm and the navigation ‘chip’, being able to navigate always fluidly and at always high speed. And the truth is that it has gone very well. I have been making a lot of progress from the beginning and I am happy with the preparation”.
Will it be Barreda’s last ride in a Dakar Rally?
At the end of the 2023 Dakar Rally, will we say to Joan Barreda “goodbye cowboy”? It is the question that several lovers of this sport and motorcycles are asking themselves. However, the same pilot made it clear what the position is before a possible retirement after this edition ends.
“I think it will be my last Dakar. What happens is that we would have to see, because I would like to continue to be linked to the development of the motorcycle, to do a program with Honda… it is something with which I feel very identified. But if I’m feeling well, maybe I’ll continue.” In this way, if Joan Barreda manages to overcome fifth place in 2017 and 2022, his spirits may be at the highest and he will continue to represent us in the most important cross-country motorcycle race in the world.