Corbin Leaverton has signed with Honda Factory Off-Road Racing to drive the Honda Talon in 2025. His first start will be the Mint 400 in March.

Leaverton is coming off a 20th-place Challenger finish in his maiden Dakar Rally, though his result does not reflect his actual performance. Driving a Taurus T3 Max in his debut for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team, Leaverton impressed out of the gate by winning the Prologue. After sitting second in class through four legs, his race was upended by a suspension failure while leading Stage #5. Although out of overall contention, he added another stage win on the seventh leg.

The Dakar opportunity came about after an impressive showing in the Red Bull Scramble Series, winning the 2024 championship with two victories. In 2023, he won Best In The Desert’s Trophy Unlimited title.

A real estate agent by profession, Leaverton hopes to continue racing UTVs in rally raid with the goal of reaching the top-flight Ultimate class. Until then, he plans to continue dabbling in the discipline and other desert series to hone his skills.

Leaverton replaces Michael McFayden, who spent 2024 with Honda before switching to Alsup Racing Development and Can-Am for the 2025 season. McFayden began his Talon tenure by finishing second in the Normally Aspirated class at the Mint, then concluded it by winning Pro UTV NA at SCORE’s Baja 1000.

Led by Jeff Proctor, Honda Factory Off-Road Racing also fields the Ridgeline in the Trophy Truck category for Ethan Ebert.

Featured image credit: Red Bull Content Pool