Irish motorcyclist Oran O'Kelly will return home today and reunite with family and friends after successfully completing the Dakar Rally in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Oran is the first Irish man that has proudly represented Ireland in this adventurous endeavour in over 15 years.
Covering over 9,000km, the route of the Dakar Rally took Oran across some of the most challenging off-road terrain in the world, from the highest mountains to the most dangerous of sand dunes, all while enduring the extreme weather conditions of AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
From placing 95th in Stage 1 of the bike category, Oran made significant progress throughout the rally, placing an honourable 58th in the final race. Just crossing the finish line was a huge dream of Oran’s as the Dakar Rally has a 50% completion rate which underpins the testing and arduous conditions he had to endure.
Oran said “Almost four years ago, I sold my car valeting business which I’d built from the ground up in order to fund training, equipment, and race entry fees and relocated to Dubai to focus on making my dream a reality, so to achieve this dream of mine and cross the finish line of the Dakar Rally is something I’ll never forget”.
A fantastic achievement from the Irish Man, congratulations on completing the Rally Oran!
Slán go fóill.