Greg Gilson is in for the toughest three months of his racing career. He will return to the Baja 1000 for a second try in November, then make his debut in the Africa Eco Race come January. Both entries will come on his trusty Honda XLS 125.

“The organization just accepted my application, and we have a real revival of Dakar’s race,” said Gilson on Sunday.

Gilson’s Baja 1000 debut turned plenty of heads and raised as many eyebrows. To skeptics, racing a 45-year-old bike in the world’s toughest desert race just sounded like a gimmick that would blow up in spectacular fashion. Those critics were right in the end, but even they were rooting for him throughout the race. He made it as far as RM 489 before tapping out because a plethora of mechanical issues meant he wouldn’t finish in time.

The 1000 was his first time competing in Baja, after years of racing in enduro and rallies. Prior to Baja, he had done the Morocco Desert Challenge and finished 14th overall. Gilson has also raced the Rallye du Maroc and Qatar International Baja.

Of course, the Africa Eco Race is much longer than any of those rallies and arguably the biggest test he’ll face outside of the 1000. The FIM theoretically can approve him for the actual Dakar Rally since the rule is that bikes are capped at 450cc, which the XLS125 obviously falls under, but it is unlikely since the federation can only permit a select group of riders and will obviously prioritize those on the faster and stronger new bikes.

Not that it’s something he’ll lose sleep over, of course. As he noted, the AER is the ‘original’ Dakar Rally that runs from Europe to Senegal.

“I can’t wait to meet him and to meet you all, and to have this magnificent bike and Greg on the podium at the finish line at Lac Rose,” said AER organizer Anthony Schlesser.

Featured image credit: joannaa.snz