Guillaume Borne had hopes of racing the Dakar Rally for the first time in 2027, but persistent back problems have effectively put his bike career on hold. Still, that doesn’t mean his racing days are behind him.

Earlier in May, he made his debut as a rally driver when he competed in the Maroc Historic Rally. Driving a Citroën Saxo T4, Borne and co-driver Ludovic Bonnan finished second overall and won the J2&K class for cars built between 1986 and 2000 (J2 meaning 1986–1992, K for 1993–2000). Winner Romain Decamps’ Ford Escort was only two minutes and ten seconds ahead.

While this marked his first time behind the wheel, Borne is no stranger to rallying or the MHR. He was the navigator for his father Patrick at the 2016 through 2018 Maroc Historic Rallies, finishing third in J1 (1982–1987 cars) on debut in an Opel Manta 400. The duo switched to a Mazda RX-7 for the 2017 and 2018 races, respectively posting sixth- and fifth-place class runs.

Before Borne’s injuries, he was one of the top riders at events like the Baja Aragón, Rallye du Maroc, and Africa Eco Race. He finished second the Enduro Cup at the 2019 Rallye du Maroc followed by another runner-up in Rally3 at the 2022 edition, the latter being the first RdM under W2RC sanction; Borne moved up to Rally2 for the 2023 RdM and placed 27th in class.

In 2024, he made his debut in the AER. While he retired that year, he broke through at the 2025 race by winning the 450cc class and finishing third overall.

He hoped these performances would eventually earn him a shot at the Dakar Rally in 2027, but back injuries got in the way. He intends to undergo surgery later this year.

In the meantime, MHR organizer Yves Loubet encouraged Borne to try out the race. Team Autosport supplied him with the Saxo, while Bonnan was more than happy to be his pacenote reader.

“Switching to four wheels wasn’t supposed to be in the plan quite so soon, but I’ve always dreamed of competing in the Maroc Historic Rally as a driver,” said Borne. “A huge thank you to my father Patrick. If I hadn’t joined him to recce the prologue, I never would have envisioned myself doing this.”

“Four weeks to pull together a project like this is not a lot of time, but we did it!”

Featured image credit: Charly López / ASO