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• Oriol Mena is a former bikes star who in recent years has emerged as one of the best co-drivers in the SSV & Challenger classes.
• The 37-year-old started out in enduro, winning the FIM Junior world championship in 2009. He has also won multiple Spanish titles and enjoyed team success at the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE).
• He turned his hand to rally-raid in 2017, joining the Hero MotoSports team ahead of Dakar 2018. Despite his inexperience, he stormed to 7^th overall and won the top rookie prize. He backed that up with another top 10 at Dakar 2019.
• A serious accident before the Rallye du Maroc 2019 changed the course of Oriol's career. He suffered nine broken ribs, punctured both lungs and broke both collarbones, yet he might still have done Dakar 2020 if not for another crash a fortnight before the rally.
• After doing Dakar 2021 as a privateer with Rieju/FN Speed, he agreed to join fellow biker Gerard Farres in an SSV at Dakar 2022. But after doing a great job with Rokas at the Rallye du Maroc, he ended up with the Lithuanian instead as they finished on the podium. Oriol was a man in demand that year because Mattias Ekstrom had also tried to secure his services for Sebastian Eriksson!
• At Dakar 2023 Oriol linked up with Eryk Goczal in the SSVs and helped the 18-year-old Pole ("a diamond!") become the youngest ever Dakar winner. They made a dominant start to Dakar 2024 in the Challengers but were disqualified on the rest day due to a non-compliant carbon clutch disc.