Hero MotoSports Completes 10 Years; Signs 18-Year-Old For Dakar Programme

Hero MotoCorp marked the 10^th anniversary of its motorsport team, the Hero MotoSports Team Rally at the company’s Centre for Innovation and Technology (CIT), Jaipur, marking a decade of India’s rise on the global rally racing stage. As part of the milestone celebrations, the company announced several strategic initiatives that will shape the future of its rally racing journey, including unveiling a roadmap for the future through the launch of India’s Next Dakar Hero programme.

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Hero has announced signing on 18-year-old supercross and dirt track sensation Shlok Ghorpade into the Hero MotoSports team. As part of his development program, Shlok has already began training alongside FIM World Rally-Raid champion Ross Branch and the core Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders. He is also scheduled to participate in an intensive race simulation programme in Morocco as part of a dedicated pathway to the Dakar Rally.

The event in Jaipur on June 22, 2026 brought together the team’s international stars including 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship winner Ross Branch, Nacho Cornejo and Michael Doherty. Key team architects of Hero MotoSports Team Rally including its Head of MotoSports and Team Manager Wolfgang (Waffi) Fischer, and Spanish rally expert and Head of National Motorsports Jordi Grau.

Hero MotoCorp also announced the extension of its partnership with ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation), the organisers of the Dakar Rally, for five years.