Kove Moto UK has announced its support for James Hillier and WTF Racing in its 2025 Dakar programme, backing the 39-year-old TT racer in his second attempt at the world’s most gruelling off-road race. Previously, 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 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 ahead of the main event, which kicked off on 3 January in Bisha, Saudi Arabia. He will continue testing, including road-book training, before the bike and race trucks head to Barcelona for scrutineering.
Hillier said: “Clearly, the aim, first and foremost, is to finish, but now that I have proper backup and support, I can 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 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.”