Tosha Shalayna (March 6, 1995, Valencia), current runner-up dakaris a story that serves as an example to young people that with talent and hard work, you can achieve anything you want. However, due to his shy nature, he was never able to follow the path he took to reach the coveted position in the official team. dakar as sling And he is the perfect opponent for the Dakar, to the point that he is currently one of the favorite drivers to win the Dakar. sanders and KTM.

Behind that sense of security he conveys is a boy born into poverty and without the resources necessary to think that he could one day reach where he has reached. Tosha herself recognizes this. “To tell you the truth, I’m a quiet person and don’t like to talk much, and although I have a great story behind me, it’s often difficult for me to open up to you because of my personality. And sometimes, after meeting me, a lot of people are surprised at how I really am compared to what I look like and how I sound a little more cocky. But actually… that’s not the case. “It’s not like I’m shy, I’m a little more closed-minded.”he looks back.

“This story must be told. It can inspire many people,” the newspaper told him. “Of course, it would inspire me. For me, when I see a documentary about someone who doesn’t necessarily have to be an athlete, it could be from a businessman or something like that, because it motivates me. I consume that kind of content. So, yeah, it’s good that my story is also known,” he commented with MD when he received this report in the middle of the Dakar bivouac. And he started talking.

“He may have been a lost talent.”

“Definitely, I could have been one of those talented people who fell by the wayside due to lack of resources. 100% safe. I started riding motorcycles because of my uncle. Because in a way, he was the biker in the family. Super humble and super amateurr. And little by little as I grew up, the value of the bike went up, and the value of everything went up. In 2006 and 2007, in the category I was in, there was a time when I had to stop racing because there was no more money. He recalls 2006 and 2007. He was able to part with his enduro motorcycle, but although he received no entry funding, he managed to keep going with help from various brands. “The different brands made it possible to race there.” He didn’t charge a single euro, and although it still cost money, he was able to make some progress. Because of that, thanks to friends and small sponsors, I was able to race until I became an official enduro rider. I didn’t get paid there either, but everything was free.” was expressed.

“There was a time in my category where I had to stop racing because I ran out of money.”

Tosha Shalayna

“When I was in enduro, the first few years of the world championships, I didn’t earn anything, I came from a very poor family, and I had to my grandmother told me: “I think it’s time to get to work.” So I said to her, “Grandma, please give me another chance,” he says with a nostalgic laugh.

“I remember we all built a piggy bank so we could fill up the van with gas and go to training on our enduro bikes.”

Tosha Shalayna

“And in the end, it kind of worked out,” he celebrated. “But I remember most of all that I built a piggy bank so that I could put gas in the van and go to training on my enduro bike. And this was not many years ago! And with that, of course, I have not only my sponsors, but also other sponsors who I can’t say are sponsors, but are friends. They supported me, didn’t care about the consequences for me, did it what they wanted and gave me everything they could, ”he emphasizes.

“I joined rallies in the enduro days, and my first race in Valencia was on a training enduro bike, and we paid for the registration fees and everything, but it was a relatively easy race and we could go in a van and that was it. The first time I went to a small race in Morocco, I went on an enduro bike instead of a rally. It was a coincidence. I entered that race with an amateur team that a friend of mine ran with. One day he said to me: “Get in the truck, load up your bike and go to Morocco.” So I went. “When I first arrived in Morocco, I didn’t have money to buy a hotel room, so I slept on the gym floor.”opened up about a time when he continued to compete in enduro, although his focus wasn’t yet on rallying.

“When I first arrived in Morocco, I slept on the gym floor because I didn’t have money to buy a hotel room.”

Tosha Shalayna

It then competed in the Rally 2 category at the Andalusia Rally of the World Championship, ultimately winning the same class. It directly gave him permission to race to the Dakar. “That’s how I got the famous Road to Dakar, and it lit the fuse, and more people joined the project and we were able to carry it out.” And the rest is history. It debuted at Dakar 2021 with the aim of attracting the attention of official projects and teams. Using his own bike, he was able to finish 13th at the end of the rally on his debut and close to the top 10.

He then had to return in 2021 with a joint project with Jorge Martínez Aspar, but his registration was delayed. A year away from the Dakar could hamper his progress, but he was preparing to return again on his private bike in 2023. In the first week, he suffered tendinitis in his right hand, which grips the accelerator, but despite this, he continued to attack in the second week and achieved a brilliant 13th place in the Dakar. His time has come. Honda offered him a test race on a black bike at the World Championship. And since then, the glow hasn’t stopped. In 2025, he finished second in his second Dakar with Honda.

Along this path, there are key figures who have helped Rally Raid in every way to make his final leap into the elite. In it, we will focus on Juan Antonio Germán, his manager Tony, and Jorge Martínez Aspar, who we met thanks to Tony.

“My right hand, so to speak, I can’t say he is my manager, so I can say that, but he is my family, although we are not related by blood, he is my family… “Tony”, Juan Antonio Germán, and my relationship with Aspar begins with him. We became inseparable and to this day we are both under different brands, but to this day they both function as my managers, so to speak, and I give them more headaches than anything else, and they do, our relationship is the same,” he says with a laugh.

They were some of the many friends over the years who allowed Tosha to pursue the path her talent required. And he did the rest, giving it his all in the big moments. It didn’t fail. For this reason, Tosha does not forget and remembers that the simple fact of being on the starting line as part of the official team is already irreplaceable. But he wants more. He knows he has everything he needs to win. he will get it done.