James Hillier Has a Bloody Start to Dakar 2025
TT Legend James Hillier is once again taking on the Dakar Rally, although a crash in Stage 1 leaves him with a nasty injury
A beaten and bloodied James Hillier has had an off on Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally 2025. A Video shared by the TT legend shows him nursing a broken nose as a result.
Views of a squeamish disposition should look away now, as Hillier's video shows the TT winner clutching his nose which is apparently broken as a result of the crash.
The video, which has also been shared by Dakar organisers on Facebook, shows Hillier apparently moments after the crash. Clutching his neck scarf to a heavily bleeding nose, the Briton is joined by another rider who assesses the Bournemouth rider’s injuries.
Despite Hillier saying “I think I’ll be okay [to continue on the bike]”, the other competitor advises to leave the bike and await the helicopter that is poised to scoop up injured riders and return them to the bivouac. “When this [bleeding] stops I can go!” protests Hillier, only to be knocked back by the unknown rider who exclaims “I look [at your nose], oh f***k, it’s cracked!”.
Hillier seems to bow to the pressure of the rider, and then takes to the trail that he crashed on to look at how it happened. The stretch of desert looks straight and fairly flat, although the soft sand was hiding a larger rock just beneath the surface. It seems like Hillier and his Kove 450 Rally bike impacted this obstacle at high speed, removing him from the bike.
Hillier is not showing as a withdrawal from the event at this time, although he doesn’t show in the Rally 2 standings either. He can be heard in the video stating that once his nose is fixed he’ll be “trying again tomorrow”. Fingers crossed he can get back in the race and bag that finish.
This isn’t Hillier’s first time competing in the Dakar Rally, nor is it his first time racing in the face of injury and adversity. He previously raced to a finish in the Originals class at the Dakar, crossing the line with a broken shoulder he picked up earlier in the race.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
