By Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, has further augmented the team’s profile with the appointment of Argentine Franco Caimi as its fourth rider. Franco brings the best of varied racing with him – a rich experience of enduro racing and promising performances in the rally racing world.
In 2004, Franco became the youngest rider in enduro history to win a Gold Medal at the age of 16. One of the most successful riders ever from South America, Franco has won two Latin American championships, three national championships each in Argentina and Chile and a staggering six gold medals at the prestigious International Six Days Enduro. In 2017, Franco moved to the rally racing arena where he clinched the title of Rookie of the Year with an eighth-place finish at the Dakar Rally. With speed and consistency as his forte, he matched his debut year result at the 2020 Dakar.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Team is set to commence its Road to Dakar 2022 with the upcoming Andalucia Rally scheduled from May 11-16, 2021 at Villamartin, Spain. This will also be the first outing for Franco in Hero MotoSports colors. Hero MotoSports Team Rally kicked-off the year 2021 with an impressive performance at the Dakar Rally with two of its riders – Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Buhler posting their best-ever Dakar standings finishing at the 11th and 14th positions respectively.
The Team’s campaign in 2020 was disrupted by the Covid-19 enforced restrictions, providing little opportunities for training and development through the year. However, making the most of the limited opportunities the team managed to quickly regroup and spent valuable time in training and developing their new bike in Portugal and Spain. As the motor sports activities gradually resumed across the globe, they had two very productive and successful outings in the Andalucia Rally and the BAJA Portalegre, winning the latter, with Sebastian Buhler and Joaquim Rodrigues securing the 1st and the 2nd place respectively. With this win, Sebastian was crowned the winner of the FIM BAJA World Cup, giving Hero MotoSports Team Rally their first BAJA World Cup win.
