James Hillier has done a lot in pavement motorcycle racing, establishing himself as a star at the Isle of Man TT. While the it is regarded as the world’s most dangerous race, the Dakar Rally also holds a similar legendary status that Hillier hopes to conquer. To make his campaign more challenging, Hillier will compete in the Malle Moto category, easily the most daunting even if it is not a front-running class like the RallyGP bikes.
Officially known as Original by Motul and open to both bikes and quads, Malle Moto riders are forbidden from having any outside assistance whatsoever, meaning crews and even media personnel may not tag along. Instead, the only help that riders get are from the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) themselves, who provides a trunk for personal belongings, parts, and tools, as well as a single headlight and help in transporting certain goods like spare tyres. Sponsor Motul also provides goods like a backpack, bike cover, head lamp, hygiene kit, sleeping bag and mattress, and travel bag.
Twenty-seven Malle Moto riders received their numbers on Thursday, with Hillier being assigned #80. He described the class as “the traditional way, the crazy way! It means I have to maintain the bike, no support truck, no nice warm bed, we are supplied tents and the tool kit is transported to each stage end. So it’s ‘Eat sleep race repeat’ for two weeks of hard core rally racing.”
Hillier has competed at the infamous Isle of Man TT since 2008, winning the Lightweight TT in 2013; he will be the first Isle of Man winner to challenge the Dakar Rally. He had hoped to achieve this feat at the 2022 Rally but delayed it by a year after OMG Racing, with whom he races in the British Superbike Championship, switched manufacturers from BMW to Yamaha. Although Hillier rides a KTM in rally raid, the change forced him to focus his offseason getting used to the Yamaha.
He qualified for Dakar after finishing fifteenth overall at the 2021 Andalucía Rally. Hillier was the third best-finishing rookie behind Julien Jagu and Paolo Lucci, both of whom also earned spots at the 2022 Dakar Rally via the Road to Dakar programme, which rewards those with no prior experience at the event with a free entry if they perform well in select races like Andalucía. Although Hillier opted out of the 2022 race, the Road to Dakar invite rolls over to 2023.
Despite not running any of the World Rally-Raid Championship rounds in 2022, Hillier has remained busy in motorcycle road racing. He placed seventh in the Isle of Man Superbike TT as well as fifth and seventh in the two Supersport TT races.