Andrew Houlihan, a 54-year-old Australian rider, currently leading the FIM veterans class and holding the sixth position overall, is all set to compete in the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura on a new KTM 450. Houlihan has already participated in the Africa Eco Race 2020, Dakar Rally 2021 and 2022. He has over 30 titanium pins, plates, and screws holding him together.

“This is my first time at Extremadura Baja, I have raced in Spain at other Rally's but not in this region so I am very excited to go to Badajoz. I expect totally different terrain from the first 2 rounds and it will be a challenge for me as most of my previous riding has been in the sand and dunes. Hopefully I can retain and extend my overall lead in the veterans class and maintain my position inside the top 10 in the 450cc Championship class.
At Extremadura Baja I will be back on a new KTM 450 bike built by Aurra Rally Equipment in Athens. The bike is brand new and it has not been ridden yet. The team at Aurra Rally Equipment & KTM Greece have done an amazing job with this bike. I had some great results in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with support from Mishal Alghueim & Saudi Dirt Bike Centre and now for Baja Extremadura and the remaining European rounds I am super happy to be back with the Nomadas Adventure Coca Cola racing team.
When we returned from Qatar 3 weeks ago I got Covid and with only a short gap between round 2 and round 3 have not had a lot of time to prepare for Extremadura.
Travelling to and from Australia for each Baja round is expensive and difficult. For Extremadura I have 4 flights from my hometown, Albury to Melbourne, Melbourne to Doha, Doha to Madrid and then Madrid to Badajoz. The flight distance each way is approx 18,000km & I'll be spending close to 60 hours on a plane for this race,”
Houlihan said before the departure.

On his arrival in Badajoz, he had a busy day at the service park to do the finishing touches on his brand new bike, but he managed to find some time to introduce his new “baby”.

“I've just got off the plane last night with 30 hours of flight from Australia to Spain. I'm pretty happy to be here and looking forward to the race. I'm here this year back with the Coca-Cola Nomadas Adventure Racing Team, who I've been with for the last five years, and they're looking after me here at the round three of the World Baja Cup. We've got a brand new bike which hasn't even been started yet. So this was built in Greece. The guys are doing the final prep on it now. So it's a custom bike for the Bajas with some pretty special features on it.
I's got the brand new Aurra rally super light tower on it, which is a new design and new release, it is the first one that's out. Custom suspension from Australia, which I flew over with me on the plane and had some issues getting here, but it's here. Running the Twinpegs that are made in Norway. These are the best things I've ever put on a motorcycle. I have them on all my bikes, so great to have them on. The RNS, rally equipment switches, roadbook and the new RNS trip up the top.
Scott's steering dam with the BRP mounts. Custom ECU under the seat, which has been remapped by Fuel Torque in Australia.
Today we get the bike ready. Bike’s never been started, so I hope I can put some fuel in it soon and give it a little run and make sure it's all good. And then tomorrow we start with administration and technical checks and prologue. And Saturday we're into the first stage of the race. So hopefully all goes well and we have a bit of fun and stay safe.”
Houlihan said preparing for the start.

Text: Rita Kónya
Interview: Sveta Amelichkina
Photos: Sveta Amelichkina