Axel... and his French "cousins"

Many stories are told at the Dakar of exchanges between nations and continents. Chile's Axel Heilenkotter is the protagonist of one of them this year as he hops onto a French motorcycle out of conviction!

You could call this a multifaceted return to his roots. Like any Chilean motorcycle fan worthy of the name, Axel Heilenkotter was rocked by Carlo de Gavardo's exploits in the early 2000s and cheered on Francisco "Chaleco" López’s rise, which reached its zenith when the Dakar relocated to South America. The erstwhile runner-up in the national junior motocross championships got fully involved in the sport and came under the Prohens brothers' wings before joining the Chilean clan at the Dakar... but his family history took him to the start of the rally through a slightly unexpected path.

His frequent visits to motor sport events reminded Axel of his French ancestors’ major role in this field as the official importers of the Citroën brand in Chile. "When I went to the Dakar bivouac I found out there was a French constructor in the race. It caught my attention straight away, so I travelled to France to see them again. I thought of my great-grandfather and my grandfather and, in some way, I followed in their footsteps by becoming Sherco's distributor in Chile", explains this jack of all trades who also works as a marketing manager at Hewlett-Packard. The most French of the Chilean pilots laid the groundwork for his Dakar debut by sitting at the wheel of the team's assistance truck during the last edition. Now, he is ready to pin a race number onto his back and hop onto a motorcycle: "A Sherco, of course! And reaching Santiago is all that's on my mind."