Isle of Man TT ace James Hillier has confirmed he will tackle the gruelling Dakar Rally for a fourth time in January.

The 41 year old from Ringwood announced he would once again be competing in the iconic off-road event earlier this week.

Hillier, who has claimed 15 TT podiums since making his debut in 2008, said he had ‘unfinished business’ with the Saudi Arabian race after crashing out of this year’s event on the first stage, breaking his arm.

Speaking about his return from his workshop in Hampshire, Hillier said: ‘I've been preparing the Kove EX450, which is the same bike I took to Dakar this year, but sadly I only completed stage one.

‘Basically I’ve got unfinished business.

‘I need to go back and get to that finish line. I'm going back with the same bike in the Malle Moto [un-assisted] category.

‘I think it’s the hardest way to do it - the proper way.

‘The suspension is just getting an overhaul at the moment, which I look forward to getting that back very soon.

‘I’m hoping to shake the bike down next week.

‘Although the terrain in the UK is nothing like what we’ll hit in Dakar, it just gives me a chance to shake the bike down and then prep and sort all the other things that I need to take: tyres, tools, spares etc.’

Hillier has completed the 8,000km Dakar event twice before in 2023 and 2025. In the former year he finished 76th in the R2 class on a GasGas before returning in 2025, finishing 87th on the Kove bike he will be campaigning in the new year.

He added that some of fellow TT regulars think he’s mad for attempting the event again: ‘My TT riding mates think I’m a bit mad doing the Dakar “for fun” but as they’re all a bit mad themselves I take no notice.

‘For me it is all about being on my own in the middle of nowhere on my bike. Unlike at the TT there’s no pressure on the Dakar for me to achieve a result, it is more like a somewhat masochistic and very expensive hobby that will hopefully fill the adrenaline void when I eventually stop road racing.

‘When I look at the stage results, I’m more interested in whether I’ve got any penalties, than how high up the leaderboard I am. Being in the top 50 would be nice but no penalties means I haven’t missed any waypoints and have been bang on with the road book and that’s really important to me.

‘For some reason that I can’t really explain I’ve become a bit hooked on the navigation aspect of the Dakar.’

To raise some funds toward the event, Hillier is selling some of the T-shirts and other merchandise he’d prepared ahead of this summer’s TT on eBay.

He said: ‘They're branded up with some of my sponsors, and the 2025 Muc-Off bike.

‘All that money from these is going back in the pot to pay for backup. So that would be much appreciated if you're in a position to do so.’