MRW Issue 41

Not only was the win for Mare his first ever in
FIM Rally-Raid, but he also delivered the Hero
Motosports manufacturing company its first
win, helped them past Monster Energy/Honda
Team (which was not participating in the event)
and into 1st place in the W2RC Manufacturer’s
title chase and, with the most impact, gave the
1.4 billion people strong country of India its
first-ever win with India-based Hero.
With that, Monster Energy gave Mare 24
hours to catch his breath, then hit him up to
get his size of this unreal event with such a
storybook ending.
Monster Energy: Yeah, Aaron, congrats from
everyone at Monster Energy on your big win at
Abu Dhabi. Let’s start by having you discuss
what it meant to win your first FIM World Rally-
Raid Championship round this past week at
the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
Aaron Mare: It’s a dream come true for me.
And honestly, it’s only starting to sink in now.
Last year this time I didn’t even have a bike
to ride. But I was waking up every day and
training as hard as I could believing that I
would get the chance to get back to racing.
So to come back to my first Rally since Dakar
2022, and get my first ever win let alone in a
country I’ve called home for the past seven
years, is really something I could only dream
of. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge was my
first ever Rally back in 2019. It has always
been a special race to me and now it just got a
whole lot more special. I just can’t thank Hero
Last year this
time I didn’t even
have a bike to
ride. But I was
waking up every
day and training
as hard as I could
believing that
I would get the
chance to get
back to racing.