Life in the desert is a choice that few make, but once you enter it is very difficult to get out. This is what happened to José Ignacio Cornejo, who after joining the Dakar caravan in 2016, was always present, most of the time with the colors of Honda, to which he will say goodbye in 2024.
Just a day after Toby Price announced his departure from KTM, the Chilean said goodbye after a six-year journey in which he participated in seven editions of the toughest race in the world with the Japanese bike, in which a fourth place in the 2020 was his best result with them, as well as two sixth places in 2022 and 2024.
“It is with some sadness but a lot of gratitude that I say goodbye to Team Honda and HRC. 6 years together, 7 Dakars and endless adventures around the world,” he wrote on his social media. “I joined this team as a backpacker at the 2018 Dakar, as a junior with many dreams, and today I say goodbye as an experienced rally driver, winning stages and fighting for podiums and victories.”
“I want to thank all the teammates, engineers, mechanics, physiotherapists and professionals of the team, it was an honor and a source of pride for me: I met and worked with people I saw in magazines when I was a kid, and many of them today I can call friends. I hope I have left a mark and good memories in every person with whom I have shared these years”, continued José Ignacio Cornejo.
“I have made friendships that will surely last over the years, and I will keep all the memories we have made in my mind and in my heart, thank you very much. New challenges and new colors are coming for this season, I will announce them soon”, he concluded .
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