“Now it’s happening”

At 29 years old, Wesley Aaldering takes his turn to take on the desert. The Dutch biker, a national Enduro champion, already has Dakar experience, as a mechanic with Henke Hellegers’ iconic Husqvarna HT Rally Raid. Aaldering joined the party in 2016, when he was a student, and he returned to South America in 2017, 2018 and 2019. These first experiences gave him the bug and he knew he would, one day, race himself. “But it wasn’t the right time”, as he acknowledges now. As Dakar moved to Saudi Arabia, the young Dutchman focused on his budding professional career until the Covid-19 pandemics gave him more freedom and allowed him to return to the rally, as a mechanic for Husqvarna, again. It left him determined: the next time he would attend the Dakar, it would be to ride himself. A year later, he’s at the rendezvous he set for himself.

W.A.: “I really liked the challenge and the adventure of doing the Dakar as a mechanic. Henk is a good friend of mine, the team is really nice and I had a great experience. The first time I went, I already started thinking it would be a dream to be able to ride once in my life but I didn’t know when it would be possible. When I returned last year, from the very first day, I didn’t tell anyone but I thought to myself: ‘Next time I’m here, I will be on my bike, I won’t be a mechanic anymore.’ I talked with my employer, with Henk, and we made plans. And now it’s happening.
I didn’t do much motorcycle training this year, because I believe my level is quite good, I’ve done Enduro at a good level. For Dakar, I don’t need more technical skills or more speed, I need the navigation and the ability to stay fit and focused for long hours. That’s one of the main things Henk taught me. The main goal is to make it to the finish. If I make as little mistakes as possible, don’t break anything, avoid losing time on navigation… If I can skip all of that, then I believe my result will be quite good because my technique is ok. But the result is not the priority for me because finishing is the main goal.”