Life as a Dakar Rally mechanic

After washing their faces and brushing their teeth, the HRC mechanics carefully check the racebikes. Sometimes they also mount the all-important road book. “Once the riders leave, according to the length of the route, we either have breakfast or we jump in the car to go to the first assistance point,” Hanawa explains. “On average, it’s a five-to-six hour drive. I supervise six mechanics. Some of us head straight to the next bivouac to set up the boxes. Others go to the assistance points on the way.”

Once at the bivouac, the mechanics eat and then wait for the riders to arrive, which usually happens between 1 and 3 p.m. “Once the riders arrive, we have a technical briefing and then we start to work on the bikes,” Hanawa notes. “If there is not a specific problem, we disassemble only half of the bike, which usually takes two to three hours. If there has been a problem, it can be much longer.”

On the eve of a marathon stage, two of 12 stages scheduled this year, the mechanics go over the entire machine. “We don’t do shifts; we usually work together,” Hanawa says. “Last years, we had long days. On average, we were working until 8 or 9 p.m. Sometimes we sleep three hours. If we succeed to sleep five hours, we are lucky.”

Since Honda returned to the Dakar Rally in 2013, the CRF450 Rally has been simplified to make maintenance easier. “The first time we didn’t know, so we overbuilt the bike,” Hanawa admits. “Season after season, with experience, the machine has become much easier to maintain. This is a key point on the Dakar.”

Hanawa is based in the US, so, for him, the Dakar Rally is like racing the Baja 500 every day. “You do it for passion and the sense of adventure,” he says. “It’s a unique opportunity to see new countries, learn new cultures, and meet people from all over the world. It is so tough that, during the rally, sometimes you think why you did it, but one week after you already dream of returning.”