Kove Moto UK has today announced its support of James Hillier and WTF Racing in their 2025 Dakar programme, supporting the 39-year-old TT racer in his second attempt at the world’s most grueling off-road race.
Hillier, better known for his success on tarmac at the Isle of Man TT, enters the Dakar for the second time after an impressive debut two years ago, where he finished the two-week-long race with a broken shoulder in the Originals by Motul class.
Lee Westbrook of Kove Moto UK commented, “We are delighted to join forces with James and the WTF Racing team for Dakar 2025. James has proven his pedigree already in the Dakar in the toughest class, where he was maintaining his own bike. For 2025 with the support of WTF Racing and Kove, he can now truly focus on the job at hand with full backup and support throughout. We wish James the very best of luck.”
Racing the Kove 450 Rally EX, Hillier has already been testing, using the recent ISDE event in Spain to gain valuable riding time on the 450 Rally ahead of the main event which kicks off on January 3rd in Bisha, Saudi Arabia.
Hillier added, “Clearly the aim first and foremost is to finish, but now I have proper backup and support this time, I can really focus on the riding and not conserving energy for the work between the stages. Thanks to Alan and Paul at WTF and Kove’s support both here in the build-up and with the factory when we get to Saudi Arabia, I feel more ready for the challenge than ever. I can’t wait to get started and see what we can do.”
Hillier will continue testing on his Kove 450 Rally, including road book training and various checks, before the bike and race trucks head to Barcelona for scrutineering and onto the ship on November 30.
(Lead image caption L-R: Paul Curran (WTF Racing), James Hillier, Alan Gardner (WTF Racing), Lee Westbook (Kove Moto UK)
Words and Images by Kove Moto UK
