Hero MotoSports Team Rally has completed ten years in international rally racing, and the Indian manufacturer marked the milestone with a series of announcements aimed at strengthening its long-term presence in the sport. The celebrations took place at Hero MotoCorp’s Centre for Innovation and Technology in Jaipur and brought together current riders, team management, partners and members of the motorsport fraternity.
Among the attendees were 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship winner Ross Branch, Chilean rider Nacho Cornejo, South African rider Michael Docherty and India’s newest recruit, Shlok Ghorpade. Hero MotoSports team manager Wolfgang Fischer and Head of National Motorsport Jordi Grau were also present.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, Hero MotoCorp announced a five-year extension of its partnership with Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the body responsible for organising the Dakar Rally and the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. The renewed agreement is expected to provide continuity to Hero’s participation in the world's toughest rally events and support the development of young talent.
The company also unveiled ‘India’s Next Dakar Hero’ (INDH), a rider development initiative aimed at identifying and nurturing Indian off-road racers. Participants selected through the programme will undergo a two-to-three-year training process covering navigation, riding techniques, endurance and physical conditioning, with the goal of preparing them for international rally-raid competition.
Hero says the initiative builds upon the experience accumulated over the past decade and follows the international debut of Indian racer Arun Thayappa at Spain’s Cierzo Rally in 2025 aboard the Hero 450 Rally prototype.
Another major announcement was the addition of 18-year-old Shlok Ghorpade to Hero MotoSports Team Rally. The Satara-based rider has enjoyed success in Indian supercross competition and has already begun training with Ross Branch and the team’s established riders. Hero says Ghorpade will also undergo race simulations in Morocco as part of his preparation for a future Dakar Rally campaign.
Founded in 2016, Hero MotoSports Team Rally was created to showcase Hero MotoCorp’s engineering capabilities in rally raid competition. Over the last decade, the team has become one of the leading outfits in the discipline, securing multiple podium finishes and, most notably, the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship title with Ross Branch.
With a fresh agreement with ASO, a structured pathway for young Indian riders and a promising new talent joining the squad, Hero MotoSports is looking to ensure that its second decade in rally racing is just as significant as the first.
