James “Jim” Pearson was among a five-man team at the 2023 Dakar Rally hoping to be the first Americans to complete the race in the Malle Moto class for riders without any outside assistance. While his effort came up short this year, he is keen to try it again.
“With a first participation at the Dakar, Jim almost made it all the way,” posted OCD Custom Cycles & Auto Repair LLC, a motorcycle repair shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Tuesday. “Bike troubles kept him from crossing the finish line at stage 11 from 14. Jim said ‘I will be back in 2024!’
Pearson and his brother David formally made their Dakar débuts in 2023 alongside American Rally Originals team-mates Morrison Hart, Kyle McCoy, and Paul Neff. All competed together in Malle Moto, also known as Original by Motul, but only Hart reached the finish in fifteenth overall as the final finisher in the category. Pearson bowed out after eleven stages as mechanical problems struck his KTM 450.
At the time of his exit, he was running sixteenth in class with his best daily finishes being in the same position in Stages #6 and #10.
While Hart completed the race, Pearson was the only retirement of the other four to do so for bike problems as injuries from accidents befell his colleagues. McCoy, the only rider of the quintet with prior Dakar experience, broke his leg on the fourth stage while David suffered a C7 fracture a day later, whereas Neff broke his ribs and wrist in Stage #10.
After growing up in Canada before moving to the United States, the Pearson brothers became fans of the Dakar Rally before following the 2014 edition on their bikes and eventually putting together a serious effort to take part. A self-taught mechanic, Jim honed his rally raid skills by competing in events such as the Baja Rally and Sonora Rally, the latter now a leg on the World Rally-Raid Championship like Dakar; David won his Dakar 2023 entry via the 2022 Sonora Rally.
