HERO MOTOCORP has celebrated a decade of its rally-raid journey by announcing an ambitious roadmap for the future of Indian motorsport. Marking the 10th anniversary of Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the company unveiled the “India’s Next Dakar Hero” (INDH) programme, extended its partnership with the organisers of the Dakar Rally for another five years, and inducted rising Indian off-road racer Shlok Ghorpade into its factory rally team.
The announcements were made at Hero’s Centre for Innovation and Technology (CIT) in Jaipur, where current and former team members, riders, dealers, partners and motorsport stakeholders gathered to commemorate the milestone.
Founded in 2016, Hero MotoSports Team Rally has emerged as India’s most successful rally-raid team and the first Indian outfit to reach the podium at the prestigious Dakar Rally. Over the past decade, the team has established itself among the leading competitors in international rally-raid racing. The team’s achievements include the 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship title won by Botswana rider Ross Branch, while Hero has consistently competed at the highest levels of the Dakar Rally and World Rally-Raid Championship.
A major announcement at the event was the renewal of Hero MotoSports’ partnership with the Amaury Sport Organisation, the organiser of the Dakar Rally and the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. The partnership has been extended for another five years, ensuring Hero’s continued involvement in the world’s toughest rally events and reinforcing its commitment to rally-raid racing on the global stage. According to the company, the extended agreement will support long-term participation in international rally competitions while helping grow the sport globally.
Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Munjal said the team had evolved from an ambitious vision into one of the world’s leading rally-raid outfits while proudly representing India on the international stage. The new initiatives, he indicated, are intended to ensure that Indian riders become a bigger part of the team’s future success story.
The centrepiece of Hero’s future strategy is the launch of India’s Next Dakar Hero (INDH), a talent-identification and rider-development initiative aimed at creating India’s next generation of Dakar Rally competitors.
Under the programme, selected riders will undergo a structured development pathway lasting between two and three years. The initiative is designed to address one of Indian motorsport’s biggest challenges: creating a pipeline of riders capable of competing at elite international rally events such as the Dakar Rally.
As part of its youth development strategy, Hero MotoSports officially inducted Shlok Ghorpade, an 18-year-old rider from Satara, into its factory rally programme. Ghorpade has built a reputation as one of India’s most promising off-road racers, having won multiple national-level Supercross titles. He has already begun training with Hero’s factory team and is expected to undergo race simulation programmes in Morocco as part of preparations for future Dakar participation.
The anniversary event featured several of Hero’s leading international riders, including: Ross Branch, Nacho Cornejo, and Michael Docherty. Also present were team manager Wolfgang Fischer and Head of National Motorsports Jordi Grau. The event included demonstrations of rally machines and off-road riding showcases highlighting the team’s technical capabilities and achievements.
