MACBOR’s Dakar debut: Gerard Farrés returns to the motorcycle

• MACBOR’s first Dakar appearance with its own team, and it will compete in the motorcycle category
• Gerard Farrés is heading into his 20th Dakar and will race on two wheels again for the first time since 2018
• To prepare, the team will compete in the 1000 Dunas Rally and the Addax Rally in Morocco

MACBOR is turning from backer into competitor. For several years, the Barcelona-based brand supported Gerard Farrés as a sponsor while he raced in the side-by-side category. These are off-road vehicles in which driver and co-driver sit next to each other. Now MACBOR is fielding its own team for the first time, and it is doing so in the motorcycle class. The company announced the move on 20 October 2026. According to MACBOR, the Dakar 2027 is scheduled to run from 1 to 15 January. The Spanish brand’s entry is one of the team announcements in the run-up to the next edition of the Dakar.

Who is Gerard Farrés and what has he achieved at the Dakar?

Gerard Farrés comes from Manresa in Catalonia and is one of Spain’s most experienced rally raid riders. So far he has lined up at the start of the Dakar 19 times.

His Dakar story began in 2006 on a motorcycle, when he was the best rookie in the field. His biggest success on two wheels came in 2017 with third place in the overall motorcycle standings. He later switched to the side-by-side class, where he finished second in 2022. In total, that gives him three podium finishes at the rally. Eleven of his starts were on a motorcycle. In the paddock he is known by the nicknames “Farreti” and “el Legend”. The 2027 edition would be his 20th participation.

Why did Gerard Farrés quit motorcycles in 2018?

Farrés attributed his farewell to motorcycles to a knee injury and the wear and tear of around 20 years of racing. He announced the decision in Lima at the beginning of 2018, shortly before the start of that year’s Dakar.

The previous May he had crashed at the Hellas Rally in Greece and injured his left knee. Since then he had been fighting to regain mobility in the joint. After his final training sessions, he knew the time had come. He spoke openly at the time about having carried the decision around with him for six months. After eleven Dakar participations in which he had always given everything, he said he felt worn out in every respect. His words at the announcement: “Así que este va a ser mi último Dakar en moto y qué mejor manera que anunciarlo en esta gran carrera que me lo ha dado todo.” In English: “So this is going to be my last Dakar on a motorcycle, and there is no better way to announce it than at this great race that has given me everything.”

He did not want to say goodbye to the Dakar entirely, however. At the time he hoped to continue in another vehicle, such as a buggy. On two wheels, though, it was over, he stressed: “en moto esto se ha terminado”, meaning “on the motorcycle, this is over”. And that is how it initially turned out. In the following years he competed in the side-by-side class, most recently with Toni Vingut as his co-driver. Vingut had himself previously completed five Dakar participations on a quad. With the 2027 edition, Farrés now returns to the category in which his Dakar career began.

How long have MACBOR and Gerard Farrés been working together?

The relationship goes back much further than the sponsorship years at the Dakar. Farrés has long been a MACBOR brand ambassador and already served as the figurehead for the Montana XR5 adventure model.

Riding a Montana XR5 500, he finished on the podium several times in the Maxitrail class at the Bassella Race 1 in Catalonia. On 11 February 2023 he took third place there for the second year in a row, in a field of more than 1,200 entered riders. At the Dakar, MACBOR supported him as a sponsor from the 2024 edition onwards. For the Dakar 2025, Farrés competed with the Pedregà Team in the T4 class, the category for production-based side-by-sides. MACBOR was also on board as a partner again at the Dakar 2026.

At the presentation of the 2025 Dakar project, Farrés recalled that MACBOR had welcomed him into the family when the brand was founded. Thanks to that support, he said, he was able to compete at the Dakar again. MACBOR itself describes the new step as its own team as a “very special adventure”.

Which motorcycle will Gerard Farrés ride at the Dakar 2027?

MACBOR has not yet announced which motorcycle Farrés will ride at the Dakar 2027. There is also no information so far on the exact make-up of the team.

All that is certain is that MACBOR will compete in the motorcycle category and that Farrés is the rider for the project. Technical details of the race bike should become visible at the latest during the preparation events in Morocco, where the team is already competing together.

How is the MACBOR team preparing for the Dakar 2027?

Before the Dakar, MACBOR is sending Farrés to two rallies in Morocco. There the team is to gain off-road experience and get used to the conditions of such long-distance competitions.

1000 Dunas Rally

First up is the 1000 Dunas Rally 2026. It runs over six stages from Fès through the Moroccan desert to Merzouga. The route combines navigation with changing terrain, making it a first test for the team of the strain over several days.

Addax Rally

Just a few days later comes the Addax Rally. It is scheduled to take place around Merzouga from 25 to 30 October 2026 and covers around 1,600 kilometres. The focus is on roadbook navigation, meaning the route description that riders work through while riding. According to MACBOR, this is exactly one of Farrés’ strengths. The stages run over sand, rocky tracks and through the Erg Chebbi dune field.

Why is MACBOR going to the Dakar with its own team?

According to the manufacturer, the Dakar entry is part of the brand’s international expansion. The rally is intended to raise MACBOR’s profile and support growth beyond its existing core markets.

According to the company, MACBOR is now represented in 15 European countries. Its core markets include Spain, Portugal and France. The motorcycles have been available in Portugal since the end of 2022 and in France since May 2025. Over the past two years, the Benelux countries, Poland, Switzerland and the Baltic states, among others, have been added. At the same time, the brand will be exhibiting at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan in autumn 2026 for the fourth year in a row.

MACBOR had already made it clear during its sponsorship in previous years that the Dakar is meant to serve as a showcase. At the presentation of the project for the Dakar 2026, Carlos López-Navarro talked about how the brand had planned its move abroad: “Hace tres años apostamos por salir fuera y crecer como marca. En EICMA vimos que el producto de MACBOR gustaba y decidimos buscar importadores por todo el mundo.” In English: “Three years ago we committed to going abroad and growing as a brand. At EICMA we saw that MACBOR’s products were well received, and we decided to look for importers all over the world.”

Motos Bordoy and the Dakar: a connection dating back to the 1990s

MACBOR is the in-house brand of the Barcelona-based Motos Bordoy Group. The group has a long-standing connection with the Dakar. As early as the 1990s, it supported well-known Spanish riders such as Marc Coma, Jordi Arcarons and Carlos Mas in their sporting projects. The new team therefore builds on a relationship with the rally that is older than the MACBOR brand itself.

What kind of brand is MACBOR?

MACBOR is the house brand of the Spanish importer Motos Bordoy and was founded in 1999. It started out with children’s motorcycles for beginners and competition.

In 2017 it moved into motorcycles with manual gearboxes and small displacements, namely 125 and 250 cc. The company had its first six models built by the Chinese manufacturer Zongshen. Before the market launch, pre-production bikes were tested over more than 60,000 kilometres. According to MACBOR, the brand became number one in Spain in this segment within three years.

In 2020 it entered the mid-range class with the Montana XR5 500. This was followed by the Eight Mile 500 in Street and Scrambler versions and, in 2024, the Rockster 410 from the custom segment. The current 2026 line-up includes the Montana XR1 125, the Rockster 125, the Rockster Flat 125 and the newly introduced Shifter 125.

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