Just spotted something interesting. HRC has signed a South African expat rider, Aaron Mare. I've never heard of him though, seems like he's been doing some racing abroad.
Awards
2017-2018 Emirates Desert Champion
2018 Desert Storm Rally Champion
2011 Qualified 125cc Junior World Championship
2008 Top 15 85cc Junior World Championship
2008 3rd 85cc South African Nationals
2003 2nd 65cc South African Nationals
https://rally.hondaracingcorporation.com/report/eicma-2020-teams-presentation/The new HRC teams for 2020 have been revealed in the auditorium of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, with Monster Energy Honda Team showing off their most recent signing.
The Stella Polare Auditorium at Milan’s EICMA hosted the presentation of the new 2020 HRC line-ups. In the audience, leading journalists from the motorcycle world gave a rapturous greeting to the announcement of next season’s squads for the various disciplines in which HRC’s riders will officially compete: MotoGP, Superbike, Motocross, Trial and Rally. The main protagonists at the event were accompanied on the rostrum by Noriake Abe, Chief Officer for Motorcycle Operations at Honda Motor Co. and Shigeki Nomura, HRC President.
American Ricky Brabec, Argentinian Kevin Benavides, Spanish Joan Barreda, Chilean José Ignacio Cornejo and South African Aaron Maré will be the five Honda HRC riders who line up for the 2020 Dakar Rally on its maiden residence in the Middle East.
Two Monster Energy Honda Team riders, Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec, attended the presentation, given that team-mates Joan Barreda, José Ignacio Cornejo and the squad’s newcomer Aaron Maré, are all currently involved elsewhere in final testing before the great challenge.
Aaron Maré, new team member
Monster Energy Honda Team has incorporated South African rider Aaron Maré into the ranks who is set to make his official 2020 Dakar Rally debut at the event in Saudi Arabia from January 5-17. Maré, with a motocross background, has previously participated with the team in a supporting role in the Cross-Country Rallies events in Chile and Morocco, is currently involved in private training in the build-up to the 2020 Dakar. The recent achievements of Aaron Maré include first place clinched at the Dubai International Baja and the UAE Baja Championship, as well as victory in the Desert Storm Rally.
more information, click here: https://rally.hondaracingcorporation.com/rider/aaron-mare/
Former rider Ruben Faria as been appointed as Monster Energy Honda Team General Manager. Faria was the Sporting Manager of the Team in the last Dakar.