Off Piste Adventure‘s trio of riders for the Sonora Rally on 24–28 April might not be the most decorated group, with two being new faces to the world of rally raid, but they certainly pack a punch in the name department as Jordan Dukes and Luke Stalker join the returning Matthew Ransom.
Ransom boasts the most experience at Sonora by virtue of being the only one to even race there. In his début in 2020, he finished eighth overall and third in the Road to Dakar subcategory for riders aspiring to compete in the Dakar Rally. His second attempt in 2022 ended with retirement after three stages.
Dukes mainly competed in hare scrambles, a form of off-road bike racing on closed circuits, before beginning a transition to rally raid.
Stalker is even newer to the discipline as Sonora will be his rally raid début. Having rode bikes since he was three, he has also raced in hare scrambles as well as enduro. In early April, he entered the AMA US Hard Enduro Series’ Snake Bite event in Texas, finishing twenty-eighth overall and seventeenth in the Pro class.
All three are eligible for the Road to Dakar, with the winner of the class earning free admission into the 2024 Dakar Rally.