First look: 2024 Honda Dakar Team and CRF450 Rally bike

Monster Energy Honda Rally Team officially announce their riders for the 2024 Dakar Rally and give us the first look at the new HRC CRF450Rally race bike.

The reigning World Rally-Raid Championship champion manufacturer, Monster Energy Honda Team, has unveiled another impressive squad and race bike as they pack things into containers and head to Saudi Arabia for the start of January.

They enter this season with the most impressive rider-line-up of any manufacturer with Pablo Quintanilla, Ricky Brabec, Skyler Howes, Nacho Cornejo, Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina all in the factory HRC squad.

The 2024 Dakar promises much with big liaisons and long stages back in the mix which promise to make it one of the toughest since the race landed in Saudi Arabia. Dakar ‘24 starts on January 5 in Al Ula – read more about the route and stages here: 2024 Dakar Rally route revealed – new 48hr “Chrono Stage” in the Empty Quarter

First look at the new Honda CRF450 Rally

Honda say they are “leaving behind the old CRF450Rally that has given us so much joy” as they gear up to the ’24 Dakar.

The latest incarnation of thoroughbred HRC Rally bike has been in development constantly across the last two years and lands with a new design for the graphics.

As ever, the details are as scant and Honda gave nothing away in their team presentation about the new bike other than to say the improvements are based around making it more robust but keeping it light – “evolution and revolution” they say.

“Cutting-edge design” and “state-of-the-art technology”…yup, we expect that from HRC. But that’s all we got so far except some crisp images to drool over and the team aunch video below.

Photo Credit: Monster Energy Honda | MEHT