TT regular James Hillier has resumed his Dakar Rally campaign after being forced to sit out two days because of a broken nose.

Under doctor’s orders, he was forced to sit out the next couple of days of the event he first contested in 2023.

The 39 year old from Ringwood in Hampshire took to the start line of stage three on Tuesday astride his Kove 450, completing the 203-mile stage in 87th spot in the event’s Rally 2 class.

He upped his pace further on Wednesday, finishing the stage in 83rd to move him up to 85th in the overall standings.

Speaking ahead of the iconic event, which continues until next Friday, Hillier said: ‘I'm coming to Dakar 2025 with a team, the same guys who look after me at the TT.

‘On paper the WTF team name stands for “We're The Future”, because we’ve been offsetting a lot of our carbon.

‘It will be a new experience for all of us.

‘When I tackled the event in 2023 it was about survival, especially with all the rain that year.

‘I joke with my wife that it was a bit like labour; the body naturally erases trauma from the memory bank.

‘Completing “malle-moto” is quite an achievement.

‘It was surprising at last year's TT how many people are into the Dakar and asked about it.

‘I'll be on a Kove this year after riding a GasGas in 2023.

‘Earlier this year I did the International Six Days Enduro on a Kove.

‘I made it to the finish and so did the bike, which was a good confidence booster.

‘I also did the Qatar International Baja, my first rally since Dakar 2023, so I could practice navigation.

‘I can't say this Dakar will be “easier” because there's nothing easy about it.

‘But hopefully it will be a bit less demanding, and I can enjoy it a bit more.

‘It will be quite nice to share it with the team, and to have a bed in the truck with a decent pillow.

‘It should be slightly more enjoyable and I can put more energy into just riding the motorbike.

‘Finishing is the priority. Last time I was going quite conservatively to save energy and give myself a bit of a cushion.

‘The biggest thing is just to keep the wheels turning and look after the bike. At the TT there's pressure on me to perform, but I'm never going to win the Dakar so there's no real pressure.’