Sherco Factory

Time and patience  

At 37, Rui Gonçalves has a number of things in common with Matthias Walkner and Andrew Short. Like them, he enjoyed a long career as a professional motocross rider. Rui had 17 seasons at the highest level, with a runner-up spot in the MX2 world championship in 2009 as his best result. When he competed on his first Dakar in 2021, he had only one participation in the Andalucía Rally as preparation. The Portuguese rider finished in 19th place, third best rookie behind Daniel Sanders (4th) and Tosha Schareina (13th). A result that reflects the philosophy of the Portuguese rider, who since his debut has always emphasised "patience" An approach supported by the manager of the French team Sherco, David Casteu who wanted to combine this element with the youthful profile of Lorenzo Santolino and the Indian Harith Noah. After a difficult first stage, Rui made his mark on the 2022 Dakar by finishing third on stage 4. 24th at the finish in Jeddah, he improved every day in the general standings but needs to accumulate more kilometres to be able to compete with his rivals. With only five rallies under his belt, Sherco's W2RC campaign will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial for Rui, who needs to accumulate race time aboard the new SEF 450 Rally.