HT Rally Raid Team Manager Henk Hellegers explains the new role running the Honda HRC Rally programme in Rally 2 category beginning with W2RC round four, the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal.

From their beginnings with young riders Paulo Goncalves, Quinn Cody, Sam Sunderland and Chaleco Lopez to helping develop the first Honda Rally bikes, the Dutch HT Rall Raid Team has a presence in the Dakar and W2RC paddocks and on podiums.

Team manager and co-founder Henk Hellegers has been part of the rally-raid caravan for over 30 years. His team’s genesis is closely linked to Honda, and although the Dutchman has represented Husqvarna for more than a decade, with considerable success, his team is preparing to reconnect with its history.

With Honda expanding their presence in rally with customer bikes through Honda RedMoto, from the next round of the W2RC series in Portugal (September 22-28), HT Rally Raid will turn red again at the helm of a new HRC programme which will last at least three years and focus on the Rally2 category.

HT team boss Henk Hellegers explains the bike change, his history with Honda and in rally-raid…

Hi Henk, how did you get involved in rally-raid?

Henk Hellegers: “I took part in my first Paris-Dakar-Paris in 1994 in a fast assistance car for a friend for whom I had prepared the vehicle and suspension and who won T1 and finished 10th overall.

“In 1995 and 1996, I was in the assistance truck for Sven Quandt’s Geco team, which has now become X-raid. We finished 3rd in the trucks twice. In 2005, I came back to lead Thierry Magnaldi’s team, running a Honda buggy...already.”

HT Rally-Raid was born with Honda, wasn’t it?

“Yes. The following year I founded the HT Rally Raid bike team with riders like Paulo Goncalves, Quinn Cody, Sam Sunderland and Chaleco Lopez, with support from Honda Europe.

“We developed the bike based on a production enduro machine to which we added rally-raid specific components: tanks, exhaust, navigation tower...

“In 2012, HRC asked me to prepare their 2013 return to the Dakar. It was a very intense two years that enabled Honda to build its own factory machine in Japan.

“I then took on the challenge of supporting a brand that was just starting out in rally-raid: Husqvarna. But I always kept in touch with Honda. When the idea of a Rally2 client programme came up recently, I was interested because I knew that Husqvarna was going to withdraw from the discipline. It was the right time to come back to Honda. For me and for my son Ties, who has joined me, it’s a new energy.” 

What do the letters HT in your team name stand for?

“It comes from my previous suspension preparation company, which was called HT Suspension. It was the initials of my first name Henk and that of my partner. When I set up my bike team, I didn’t really think about it and just changed Suspension to Rally-Raid!

“You can see several options today: Honda Team or Henk and Ties, the first name of my son who now works alongside me. But in reality, there’s no particular significance!”

How is HRC’s future Rally2 programme different from your previous experiences with Honda?

“This time, HRC has taken charge of producing the specific parts directly in Japan. They are then assembled in Italy by RedMoto, which takes care of homologation and marketing.

“Three of these bikes took part in the 2025 Dakar: Paolo Lucci and Jacob Argubright with the RS Moto team and Romain Dumontier, who was attached to HRC.

“These pre-production bikes have been race-proven, returned to Japan for inspection and the production machine for customers is now on the market. It’s serious, it’s Honda.”

What is the schedule for the Honda Rally2 programme?

“As we are doing this season, HT Rally Raid will take part in all W2RC 2026 rounds with a maximum of eight riders. Their profiles will range from amateurs who dream of finishing the Dakar to those who come to achieve results in the category over the duration of the championship.

“As always with Honda, it’s a long-term programme. We’ll be in red from the next round in Portugal with some of the future riders and with the full crew for the final in Morocco. In September, we will present the team and reveal its 2026 line-up.”

What are your objectives in Rally2 for 2026?

“We’ve already helped Romain Dumontier with Husqvarna to victory in the category on the 2023 Dakar and to two World Cup titles in 2022 and 2023. Our aim is to fight with new riders for the championship title.”

Photo Credit: ASO | J. Delfosse | DPPI