It’s been a whirlwind start to the year for Justin Gerlach. In January, he finally got to race the Dakar Rally for the first time. Just a month later, he was in the UAE competing in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. From there, he has more he wants to do like more rounds of the World Rally-Raid Championship and RBI Sport’s rallies.

Gerlach sat down with 131 Off-Road on Friday to talk about his year so far, recapping Dakar and Abu Dhabi, and his plans for the future.

“It’s so busy, it’s crazy,” he said about his first three months. “After Abu Dhabi when I came back, I was sick for like one and a half weeks. I was looking a bit back and I thought, ‘Man, this time I was working, the same time I was not working.’ I was at Dakar, I was at Abu Dhabi, and I was sick for a bit. Crazy busy, but even now at the moment so it’s not like times got easier. The most busy time of the year, Rally Dakar is over and also Abu Dhabi, which was a busy race, but for sure this is a proper start into 2025.”

The transcript of this interview can be found here.

Abu Dhabi

131‘s conversation took place roughly three weeks after Gerlach had completed his third Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. He is no stranger to the event, having made his debut in 2023 and using his next two starts to accumulate W2RC experience as well as bolster his credentials to be accepted for Dakar.

2025, however, was a bit different from his previous tries. This time, he arrived in the Emirates with a Dakar under his belt and, perhaps most notably, a red number to signify he was in Malle Moto. While still categorized in Rally2, Malle Moto competitors race without assistance from crews and must work on their bikes themselves or with the help of other riders at most. Gerlach’s past ADDCs and Dakar were as a regular Rally2 rider.

It was a bit of a last-second decision to sign up for Abu Dhabi. He was cutting it so close that the solo class ended up being the only viable option if he wanted to take part.

“When people asked me before Dakar if I’ll be back at Abu Dhabi, I said no because it was the logical answer. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking about going to Abu Dhabi even though it’s still so close to Dakar,” he began. “Before Rally Dakar, I was in contact with the organization of Abu Dhabi, with Bryan (Gener) and Marie (Hervagault), but it was a very close call.

“Two weeks before the start of the race, I decided to go there and obviously after Dakar the biggest struggle was the financial situation. I had to figure something out after Dakar, but I made it possible. Due to that reason, Malle Moto was the only possible solution.”

Naturally, its demands make Malle Moto far more difficult than simply racing with help from mechanics like everyone else in Rally2. Still, his interest was piqued after seeing the class at Dakar.

“To be honest, when I was at Rally Dakar, I always had a look at the Malle Moto riders,” he noted. “I was kind of admiring them because I was fighting a lot and there were still people with me, like in my riding field with my pace or behind me, who still had to work on their bikes. I wanted to try it out. I knew it in Abu Dhabi, of course it’s a tough race, but after Dakar I knew I would definitely make it every day in daylight. Normal cases, I should have time to work on the bike.

“I thought Dakar days on the bike were very long, so there’s no time for relaxing. I just worked on the bike, that was the best solution.”

The race began on a strong note as he finished the Prologue ninth in Rally2 and second fastest in Malle Moto behind then-FIM Bajas World Cup points leader Alex McInnes. It was his best W2RC stage finish to date.

Unfortunately, things took a turn before he could even start the next stage. On his way to the start to the Selective Section, a wire in his fuel pump selector switch detached and caused him to stop. After twisting it back into place and taping it up, he rejoined the race well after everyone else.

“I was in P9, two places behind my fellow Austrian Tobias Ebster, so I was pretty motivated and I was in the best mood when the sun was out,” Gerlach began, reflecting on the Prologue. “I was going to the first start and then the bike stopped working. It was maybe not the issue itself which changed my race strategy a bit, but rather the time it took for me to fix the issue because it was a fairly simple issue. It was just a cable on the fuel pump selector switch, but I didn’t see it. I think I started one and a half hours behind the last bike and considering the time, like the position that I was in, I think it was at least two hours it took me to fix it.”

He ultimately finished 38th in class for Stage #1. Due to the delay, he had an hour and 12 minutes of penalties added to his time.

“That changed my race a lot because the position was not really reachable anymore that I was trying to achieve,” he explained. “I decided to go every day not trying to achieve the best result, which I learned at Dakar is definitely to be the most consistent, I was just trying a bit around like which way am I faster and which way am I feeling better? I was just trying to give it all my energy and see at which kilometer of one stage I’m really starting to lose energy and focus, and then I saw at which point of endurance and fitness I am. I had another benchmark than just always going consistent, so I’m trying to work on my weaknesses now.”

While it certainly stunk to have his plans upended like that and so soon, he was also a bit relieved it happened in Abu Dhabi rather than Dakar. More importantly, he was still able to continue.

Gerlach placed 15th in Stage #2 despite getting his foot stuck between the exhaust and swing arm, which required him to tear down part of the exhaust to extract the boot. The third day, the first of the marathon, was cleaner and he avoided incident en route to 21st in class.

Stage #4 thrust him into the dunes where he made it out in 18th. While the race had been a workout for him and his old KTM 450, the fifth and final leg was smooth sailing as he finished 12th.

By the end, he was 21st overall in Rally2, fourth in Malle Moto, and third in the Junior Trophy. While the former was slightly worse than his 2024 outing of 17th (though an improvement from 22nd in his ADDC debut), he was happy with how he did. Gerlach explained he “didn’t go there to achieve a certain position” but “still wanted to see if I could reach top 15 in Rally2.”

Rather than an overall race finish, the Junior Trophy in particular was his main focus. Although Gerlach was last of the three finishers in the subcategory, he was the only one of the trio who also raced Malle Moto and his run still moved him up to second in the Junior standings behind Konrad Dąbrowski. He is 15 points back of Dąbrowski and two in front of Edgar Canet, the Dakar Rally2 winner who crashed in Abu Dhabi’s opening stage.

“After Dakar, I was sitting in fourth position and I was trying to reach the third position by participating in Abu Dhabi,” he started. “Since Edgar Canet crashed out on the first day, now I’m sitting in second position of the Junior category. I was looking at the championship and for that reason, I’m fine with the result. I saw that, especially after Dakar, I again made a lot of progress in terms of my physical abilities and also the way that I was riding.”

Of course, Gerlach was also glad to not have a dramatic crash in the dunes like he did at the 2024 race.

“I was not making these kinds of big mistakes that I did last year even though there were some popular pictures again this year of me crashing on the dune, but it was not similar to last year. It was just a little tip over,” he recalled.

“I don’t know. I’m always photographed there when something happens. But in the end, I was not making these kinds of mistakes like last year. I was really happy with the progress, but still a lot to do.”

Dakar

“To describe the emotions, I don’t think it’s really possible. You just have to experience it. Still looking back, I get a smile and a bit of goosebumps. […] This moment will live in my head rent-free. I will always keep it in mind.

– Justin Gerlach

Whereas Abu Dhabi was not a new stop for Gerlach, the Dakar Rally certainly was. After being rejected from the 2024 Dakar due to insufficient experience, a second ADDC under his belt earned him his ticket to the most recent edition in January.

Even before the race, he was blown away when he and his father Hardin arrived at the base camp in Bisha.

“My dad and I went with an Uber to the camp in Bisha and it’s crazy to see a village built up in the desert,” Gerlach recalled. “To imagine that they move it basically every day is super crazy. It’s just very impressive. At Rallye Breslau, I saw very big camps of bivouacs, but it’s not comparable to the amount of people you get to meet at Dakar. The catering tent itself, as an example, is super big and it’s just very impressive.”

Gerlach raced Dakar for DUUST Rally Team, where he had Dąbrowski and Jean-Philippe Révolte as colleagues. Dąbrowski’s family, led by his father Marek, runs the team. Being part one of the larger Rally2 outfits in the W2RC, especially since Gerlach’s team was typically just him and his dad, was a special experience.

“It was like being in the family, which was super nice because there was always something going on and I was looking forward to seeing more people in the camp than just mostly my dad,” he remembered. “It was just unbelievable. When I think back, I’m still smiling. It’s super impressive and I was so happy that I was there.”

The race began with the Prologue, where he finished 84th in Rally2. Stage #1, while not particularly long due to the impending Chrono Stage, was still a challenge for much of the field as many frontrunners were already knocked out; save for briefly stopping to attend to Révolte after he crashed, Gerlach safely reached the end with another 84th in class.

While Dakar is a desert rally like Abu Dhabi and both races share similarities like large dunes and the Empty Quarter, the terrain was far different than he expected.

“I thought, ‘Yeah, Abu Dhabi, Empty Quarter, big dunes, it must be pretty difficult. I think I know what to expect.’ But no,” he quipped. “Rally Dakar, the last three days in the Empty Quarter, there are some dune areas already in the first week of Dakar, but most of the terrain is rocky and not really comparable to the sand in Abu Dhabi. In Abu Dhabi, you barely see a stone in the week. At Dakar, you get sick of stones, especially after two weeks.

“From the way of riding, I had to adapt a lot because I’m not really used to riding a big rally bike in rocks. I would definitely recommend everyone to do the Rallye du Maroc as preparation because the terrain from Abu Dhabi to Dakar is only a little bit comparable.”

The 48-hour Chrono Stage loomed soon after. Competitors had to do as much of the stage as they could on the first day before staying overnight in camps with the bare necessities, then resume the next morning. Gerlach had often mentioned his intrigue with it, thinking “it must be nice to sit at the campfire at the end of the day and share the military rations.”

Unfortunately, Day #1 was one to forget. Trouble struck his gearbox, hampering his progress until he had to report to the camp. To make matters worse, he fell sick overnight in the cold, leaving him in bad condition for the second half.

“I didn’t reach the first Chrono camp that was supposed to be at kilometer 480. At kilometer 200, I had the gearbox issue so I was really slowed down. I only had the first and second gear,” he explained. “In the end, on the first day, I only managed to reach a fuel stop at kilometer 400. The whole Chrono Stage was brutal because of that. At the fuel stop, there were like 10 to 15 other riders who decided they were going to stay there, which was good for me because I was in company. I was scared I was dead last but I wasn’t.

“Until the helicopter came and brought us tents and sleeping bags, I think it was around 12. When the sun is away in the desert, it gets pretty cold very fast. We were freezing. Everyone had their safety blankets around them, I was just shivering on the floor so I got sick because of that I guess.

“550 kilometers on the next day were brutal. We managed to open the clutch and my shifting star was broken, so we shifted up and I could use third to six gear. I managed to do the 550 the next day in mostly third gear.”

On the plus side, he avoided further issues and brought his KTM back to the bivouac in one piece. He finished 88th for Rally2 with the only knock being a ten-second penalty for speeding.

“It was not the very nice beautiful scenery, looking at the stars and sitting on the campfire. Still, looking back, it was a very nice story to tell and I wouldn’t want to miss it, but it was brutal definitely,” he commented. “I think it had more character than last year because last year’s Chrono was ‘only’ 450 kilometers of dunes. This year, it was also very fast tracks sometimes and also dunes so it was very mixed terrain, which was interesting.”

While the toughest stage of the Dakar was behind him, the Chrono was still only Stage #2 of 12. After he placed 84th for Stage #3, the next two days were held in marathon conditions. Gerlach was undaunted going into it.

“After Chrono Stage in general, I thought to myself, ‘What is about to come now that’s going to shock me?’ I was pretty relaxed going to the marathon stage, but still the marathon stage itself was very long and very brutal,” Gerlach noted. “I also finished a special stage in the dark. I didn’t even work on the bike at the marathon stage. At the entry to the parc fermé, the guy said I have one hour, one and a half, and I said, ‘No, no, I don’t need it. Let me put the bike there. I’ll give you the time card right away.’

“From the Chrono Stage, I wasn’t really ‘prepared’ on the marathon stage and working on the bike itself, but after the Chrono I was prepared for everything, like what was supposed to come after that, just riding dunes in the dark. What was supposed to come now?”

The two marathon stages saw marked improvement in his finishes, respectively placing 75th and 65th. Going into the rest day, he sat in 72nd.

When the race resumed with Stage #6, disaster struck many of the contenders including both reigning World Rally-Raid Champions for bikes (Ross Branch and Bradley Cox). Gerlach avoided the same fate over the next few days, recording a 64th in class for the sixth stage and a 70th the day after.

However, he also found himself reaching the finish well after the sun had gone down. He was no stranger to night rallies since Rallye Breslau has such a stage annually, though that didn’t make things any easier, especially not in the dunes.

“The biggest problem was when you were racing and you see the kilometers dropping, but you also see the sun going down. That’s a very stressful situation. You are trying to be as fast as possible. The day is about to end, so you are on the road or on the bike already for eight hours maybe.

“There was one particular stage right after rest day where I still had to do 50 kilometers of pure dunes in the dark. I was not scared but I was definitely having some respect while I was riding and it’s pretty tricky. I think we were very lucky that night that there was a full moon, so there was a bit of contrast between the sky and dunes. You can properly do a lot of kilometers in the dark. You’re definitely slowed down, but in the dunes, you need to be careful because if the sky is dark and you don’t see the contrast, you’re just going up the dune and your headlight is also pointing toward the sky, so you don’t see where the dune ends. That’s definitely a sketchy situation that people warn me about.

“I was lucky it was not super sketchy, but definitely there’s a bit of challenge and also I had so much adrenaline myself. I don’t know when I was that awake, like my eyes were so big and I was on the bike. I was super focused even though it was 7 PM, 8 PM already and I was on the bike since 6 AM. Unbelievable. The pro guys, they don’t have that kind of experience.”

At one point as he rode in the dark, Gerlach came across the stopped bike of fellow Rally2 rider Damien Bataller. Bataller had a damaged rear fuel pump and was desperate for help, though the language barrier between the German and the Frenchman made efforts a bit difficult. Gerlach had learned a bit of French in school, so what he still remembered came in handy.

“I was pretty far behind and then when it was dark and I already changed to my clear lenses,” Gerlach started to recall. “I saw some bikes at the horizont and I said, ‘Okay, come on, if they are moving, if I see them going up and down, I will continue too.’

“I was catching up with Damien at that point. He was trying to show me that there was some kind of problem and I don’t know my French—it isn’t good. He doesn’t speak any English. I stopped and he was in French saying something. The only thing I said was ‘On y va,’ that’s what I still know, which is like, ‘Let’s go.’ He said, ‘Oui,’ and then everything was done.

“I lost him and from what he was trying to tell me before, I knew that he had some kind of mechanical problem. I went back and I saw that he was working on his fuel pumps, so I did a circle and I was pointing with my headlight for him so he could see what he was doing. He transferred a bottle of fluid from the rear to the front.

“Yeah, we were trying to communicate. It was just funny. Quite a few words of French still came out of my head like I still had them in mind. After the stage, I think we were considered ‘friends’. We were shaking hands. It was just super funny. I still remember a lot. Awesome experience.

“I was, to be honest, happy to ride together with him because two headlights, they were giving us more far range of visibility. When we reached the finish together, it was a crazy experience.”

Bataller was far from the only friend he made in Saudi Arabia. He particularly singled out Révolte, who often crossed paths with him whenever Révolte had fallen behind due to errors. As Gerlach explained, “When you spend two weeks together in the camper and in the same team where you just get to know each other, I must say he’s a very nice guy.

“So many other people you always meet at the fuel stop, at the start, and every day. When you see each other at the start, you know that you’re just having the same spirit just to keep going because you see everyone else suffer, yourself are suffering, so it’s just a connection building up.”

Willem Avenant, a fellow Dakar rookie who raced alongside him in Abu Dhabi, was also someone whom Gerlach had fond words for.

“Willem is just a very nice guy,” he said. “Most of the times when I finished in darkness or near darkness, even only on the liaison or coming back to the camp, I knew that Willem was still a bit behind me. But every morning, when I saw Willem smiling at the start because he said, ‘Oh yeah, this is Dakar, that’s what we are here for,’ you just have to like him. I knew, ‘Okay, Willem was on the bike this morning. There’s no point in me complaining. If Willem was going, you are going too.’ He was just like a motivator.”

As the race continued over the next four days, Gerlach found he was really starting to make progress. He would finish 65th and 66th in Stages #8 and #9 before scoring what would be his best outing to date in Stage #10 of 41st in Rally2 and 50th outright.

Stage #11 saw him finish 67th in class, and being the penultimate leg gave him plenty to be excited about going into the final day. The last stage began with a mass start in which competitors rode or drove out in groups as a throwback to the Paris–Dakar Rally of the 1980s.

“I was really looking forward even on the day before the mass start because I was feeling good the last days,” he mentioned. “I was pretty sick and in the last week it just got better. I was gaining more energy and more rhythm compared to others maybe, so my results at the end of the week in general were better than the first week. Also, it was 60 kilometers of Empty Quarter so just dunes, I knew that’s my terrain.”

As luck would have it, his bike encountered one final issue ahead of the start.

“When I reached the mass start and was only 60 kilometers left until the finish, I saw that my tire was ripped, like there was a crack in the tire and the mousse was smoking for some reason,” Gerlach explained. “So my mass start was a bit slowed down. I let everyone go first and I was just trying to limp back to the camp and make the last 60 kilometers. The mass start was not like I expected, but the feeling of only having 60 kilometers left, super nice.”

Even with the setback, Gerlach managed to finish the stage 58th in class.

He ended the race with a total time of 97:16:03. The effort ranked him 74th for all bikes, 64th in Rally2, 17th among rookies, and fourth for the Junior Trophy. Given his primary goal for his first Dakar was to reach the finish, there was plenty to be thrilled about, though it took some time for it to sink in.

“At first, I just couldn’t believe that Dakar was over now because when you are there, you are loving it,” he admitted. “You don’t have anything else you can think of or you don’t have time. Most of the days, I didn’t even have time to check my phone or anything. When I was there, I was just trying to orient myself. I was like, ‘That’s it. You have to finish now. You did everything.’

“I couldn’t believe it myself. There were so many people going around congratulating, and then when I saw my dad and my mother and two of my best friends who went there, that was the point where I started to realize, ‘Okay, that’s the finish.’

“To describe the emotions, I don’t think it’s really possible. You just have to experience it. Still looking back, I get a smile and a bit of goosebumps. That’s the moment you’re working toward for two weeks or even all the time and preparation before to call yourself a Dakar finisher. This moment will live in my head rent-free or something like that. I will always keep it in mind.”

At 23 years of age, Gerlach became the youngest German rider to finish the Dakar. His friend Mike Wiedemann was the previous record holder after finishing the 2022 race when he was 24. While it was a neat statistic to add and one that he had long circled as a goal, he admitted it didn’t cross his mind at that time even as the two of them ran across each other after the finish. Wiedemann finished 21st in class.

“In that moment, I was just feeling like I’m a finisher now and it didn’t really matter to me that I was the youngest German,” he stated. “Then I saw Mike, who used to be the former youngest German. We were congratulating each other and it was a crazy moment, but even at that moment I didn’t think about that I achieved it. Just when I came back, the fact definitely became present, but during the race, I felt like it was not the goal that maybe I had before. It was just to finish. It was a nice side effect.”

While Germany has had its share of rally raid successes, the country is not particularly invested into it compared to other disciplines. Given just how much traction Gerlach’s posts got on social media, he thinks there might be some new fans among his compatriots.

He posted vlogs and video edits from the race on his Instagram and Facebook profiles, while also providing updates in a WhatsApp group. The latter was originally just for relatives and friends, but exploded in popularity during Dakar.

“I think there were more than 400 people in that WhatsApp group. I felt like more people in the WhatsApp group were following than on social media,” he remarked. “When I was scrolling through, there were so many numbers I didn’t even know. In the end, there were so many people following and a lot of people who are normally not into rally racing who were following because of the way I was sharing it.

“I think I was not only showing the nice side of rally racing, but also the struggles and how hard it is. I tried to be honest talking about my weaknesses and what I feel like I’m not doing really good. So many positive feedback from people who were following. I didn’t even expect that they would care a bit about what I’m doing there.

“Maybe it’s a bit more popular now in Germany, especially with people who are following me.”

The rest of 2025

In a typical year, Gerlach’s rally schedule would consist of Abu Dhabi, Rallye Breslau in Poland, and Breslau’s sister race Fenix Rally in Tunisia. Of course, 2025 has not been a typical year for him so he has more on his schedule.

Given his current standing in the W2RC Junior Trophy, he is eyeing the other races on the schedule. After Abu Dhabi, the series will head to South Africa for the inaugural South African Safari Rally in May. The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal will take place in September before the season ends with the Rallye du Maroc a month later.

“If I could have a wish, it would be to participate in every of those three rallies and that’s definitely my main focus now,” he said. “But I think I already made the decision. Not the final decision, but my tendency is to skip South Africa because it’s so close from now and the logistics and financial side in South Africa is pretty difficult. Definitely my plan is to be in Portugal at the race and also at the Rallye du Maroc.”

While Portugal will be a new stop for Gerlach, its profile heavily includes forests with plenty of mud and water, though sand tracks are also present. Breslau is quite similar.

“I can imagine that terrain is not only sandy like in the desert, but also not that rocky like in Morocco maybe,” he opined. “I can expect it to be a lot of forest tracks or tracks like sandy tracks next to fields or something. Maybe it’s a bit more comparable to Rallye Breslau or other races in Europe, so I think it might be a good sight. I’ve never been to Portugal so I can’t really imagine how the terrain is, but that’s how I think it might be. I think that’s more of a cross-country race as it also is for Rallye Breslau. Maybe I have some advantage, but I think it comes down to what bike I’m using and which scenario I’m there. If there’s Malle Moto again, I’ll have to adjust my strategy. We’ll see.

“I think Portugal is an interesting race. For me, from Germany, it’s even manageable to drive there myself maybe, which is not possible with other races. Maybe Morocco, but even that’s quite further. I’m looking forward.”

The Rallye du Maroc is also a desert rally like Dakar and the ADDC, though as he mentioned, the rocky terrain means it is commonly used by teams as a dress rehearsal for Dakar. Ironically, Gerlach is doing the opposite of using his time at Dakar to prepare for Morocco.

“Normally it’s the other way around. People go to Morocco to prepare for the rocky sectors at Dakar,” he remarked. “When I think of the rocks coming up there, sometimes I feel like I developed an allergy against rocks on the motorcycle. But I think after Dakar and all the long stages we had in the rocks, I can be kind of confident. Still, rocks are always difficult. There can always be one rock that hits your front wheel or rear wheel and just kicks you around.

“I don’t think I need to be afraid or scared of Rallye du Maroc, but I’m sure it’s a tough race. I’ve never been there, so it’s a new race for me if I’m going there. It probably will be a challenge in itself, but I think I can feel confident. If you can do Rally Dakar and a lot of rocks that are there—yeah, Rallye du Maroc is not an easy race, but it’s definitely manageable.”

Before focusing on the W2RC, he will return to Poland and Rallye Breslau in June. Unlike previous years, he will not be taking part.

“I made the decision to not be a competitor this year,” he revealed. “My dad is going to participate again on his old KTM 400, so we’re turning things around a bit. I offered him my help as a service member this year, so I’m still with them. I’ll still be there with the team and with the people I know and with the race I love, but I’m going to work as a mechanic for my dad this time, what he did for me in Abu Dhabi two times. I will be there, but not as a racer myself.”

Even if he won’t be on track, being there with his father as a crewman means he will still follow the rally closely. The race has introduced changes for 2025 such as a new course for private testing and will finish along the Baltic Sea for the first time in Kołobrzeg.

“I think it definitely spiced up a bit,” Gerlach feels. “It looks very interesting and to finish at the Baltic Sea, I’m not really sure if the Rallye Breslau ever finished there, it must be a very nice scenario to be there. Even if I’m not competing myself, I’m really looking forward. I know the organization well. I know Alexander Kovatchev, the head of Rallye Breslau, and I know that he’s definitely got some tricks here and there and trying to develop the Rallye Breslau into a better race. I’m looking forward to seeing that and maybe it catches me again and I will be there next year again.

“I think the changes are good and I’m very confident that Rallye Breslau’s developing even better than it already is.”

Although racing Breslau is not in the cards, Baja Europe is. Scheduled for early May and new for 2025, Baja Europe is also run by RBI Sport and takes place in Poland.

“It’s only two or three days and on the weekends. It’s, I think, possible maybe for me to be at the start there,” he commented. “Other than that, focus on the World Championship, but it’s a lot of struggle and financial work again, same as before Dakar and last year.

A future Dakar

“It’s an unbelievable experience. It’s only three months after the finish, and I still think about it every day. It’s something that keeps you going, motivates you a lot, and I think is also life-changing.”

– Justin Gerlach

Racing the Dakar Rally ticks off a bucket list item for many people, Gerlach included. Returning to Dakar, however, can be a challenge.

Gerlach is confident that he’ll be back someday, and his heart is set on it.

“I’m sure that I will be at the start line again at some point. Someone called it a disease: you get addicted to it,” he stated. “You go there, I think there’s nothing comparable where you are suffering that much but still love it so much afterwards.”

He isn’t certain what his plan for a future Dakar entails, whether it be rejoining DUUST or possibly competing solo after getting a taste of it in Abu Dhabi.

“I will be there again, but I don’t know when and in which scenario,” he continued. “My favorite scenario would be to go with DUUST Team again because I felt like I was in a family there. I don’t think I would choose any other team because I just like them so much and I was feeling so good with them. I also could imagine that financial-wise but also as a challenge, I maybe could imagine to be in Malle Moto at some point.

“To be honest to myself, I need to improve a lot to be able to do Malle Moto. Most of the days, I finished at darkness in the camp after the long liaison. If you get into the camp at 8 or 9 PM, to be honest, I don’t want to work on my bike anymore. If I could maybe improve in terms of speeds to be two hours faster every day, then it sounds at least a bit more manageable. I don’t know, but I’m sure I will be back at some point. I don’t know how and when—I will be there.”

Besides his own riding skills, money will also play a major factor. Rally2 riders do not have the same luxuries as their professional, factory-backed RallyGP counterparts, so they often have to raise money themselves or find sponsors to afford paying the fees and other expenses.

“I didn’t want to make an overall calculation,” Gerlach said with a groan when pondering the financial toll that Dakar took. “I have everything sitting in my bank account. I could check the results and make a sheet and really have a result. I didn’t want to do that, but with buying the bike, rebuilding the bike, having the service fee, start money, all the travel costs, bringing my dad in itself cost 4,000 euros, his travel fees and everything, I think €80–90,000 and only the credit I took was €50,000. There’s still a gap. 11 years I’m paying off that credit now. Next time I do it, it definitely must be another scenario. However, it’s possible.”

Alternatively, he is “super interested” in trying the race on four wheels. Gerlach has experience as a navigator, having called the shots for Ali Gharib at the Fenix Rally in a Land Rover.

“There was the idea of doing the Dakar Classic as a navigator together with Ali, but we were not talking specifically about that so I don’t know if that’s still an option,” he noted. “I would be interested to be in a side-by-side or also a car maybe. Looking at next year, being in a competitive car, maybe also trying to develop in that area, but I think I also need more experience in a car before going to Dakar.

“I know how to navigate, I know how to navigate at Dakar, but when you are looking at the co-drivers this year—Sam Sunderland as an example, also one other German navigator Stephan Preuss—you saw that the impacts you get in a car are definitely nothing you can just take, like it is not easy. You also have to know what you are up to in a car or a side-by-side.

“Maybe to get some more experience in a fast car, maybe at another World Championship race would be good, but I’m definitely interested in that. If there’s an opportunity coming up and someone would say, ‘Okay, that’s Rally Dakar, next year in the car you are being my navigator,’ I think I would say yes right away.

“But also, by heart, I’m a motorcycle racer and also an off-road enthusiast. There are also other things that I’m interested in, especially also in being a navigator. If it’s a question of being at Rally Dakar or not being at Rally Dakar, I would also do it in a car because the feeling and the atmosphere there is just that you get addicted. It’s crazy. You have to be there to know what I’m talking about.”

The atmosphere and the memories to be made are something that Gerlach wants to reiterate to anyone who wishes to go there someday.

“If anyone who wants to go to Rally Dakar thinks about it, I can only recommend it,” he proclaimed. “It’s an unbelievable experience. It’s only three months after the finish, and I still think about it every day. It’s something that keeps you going, motivates you a lot, and I think is also life-changing.

“But still, you need to be prepared a lot and have to think of a lot of things. I think for me, it was pretty much… I don’t know how to say it. It was pretty close of finishing and not finishing because of several factors and aspects. It would have been a safer way to do it maybe in a few years and I wanted to push it to do it 2025. I even wanted to do it 2024.

“I’m now happy with everything and how it went, but it’s tough. It’s really tough. You can’t expect and imagine how it is until you’re there, but it’s worth it, definitely.”

Interview on YouTube

Featured image credit: Irina Petrichei / Edophoto