Wigan woman makes double history against the odds at the prestigious Dakar Rally

The former Standish High School student was competing in her first Dakar, having previously been crowned FIM Enduro World Champion four times and where she is unbeaten in the past two years.

After two long weeks of racing, the 29-year-old finished in an extraordinary 48th place.

And it would have been even higher, had she not shown typical character in coming to the aid of her team-mate, Jeremy Miroir, whom she towed for 60km to finish the special stage, and then for another 95 km to get him to the bivouac.

That act led to Jane being awarded the DARE award for the ‘Dakar Spirit’.

"I was really happy to get to the finish line in one piece," she said. "It is the hardest race I have ever run; exhausting both physically and mentally.

"It was my first Dakar and I didn’t know what to expect really but I gave my best every day. To be honest, this rally is a lot harder than I imagined.

"We're covering more kilometres than I thought and the days are really long…

"In Enduro, you ride for a maximum of eight hours a day with a special stage of an hour and a half, and the longest event lasts six days.

"Here, you spend 12 hours a day on the bike and the specials are more than five hours long. It's hard to stay concentrated for that long.

"I won the women's category, but I also wanted a good final position. We finished in the Top 50. The bike went very well.

"The Dakar is amazing, we will see each other again."

Jane was greeted at the finishing line by team-mate Miroir who, without her support, would not have made it to the finish.

The Dakar Rally - which now takes place in Saudi Arabia - is widely recognised as the most challenging off-road endurance race in the world spanning thousands of kilometres across varied terrains.

Participants face extreme conditions testing their skill, endurance, and determination to the limits.

But it proved to be just another day at the office for Jane, who is also a five-time British Enduro Champion.

“Choosing Jane was a gamble for us," said Matilde Tomagnini, Development Manager for Fantic Racing. "And we're not disappointed.

"After a nasty crash on the first day of the 48 HR Chrono stage, she continued for over 200km with her handlebars and navigation tower completely bent, until she managed to partially put them back in place.

"She has demonstrated that she is a very tough rider."

Jane wasted no time after the race in getting home to her family and friends – almost all of whom live in Wigan.

Indeed during a recent interview, Jane opened up on nights out in her hometown.

“A lot of people around me don’t understand why I keep going away and why I don’t have the time to go into town, get drunk and dance the night away,” she said. “My best friend does though. She’ll embarrass me when we do go out, she’ll say, ‘Ooh, I’ve a famous best friend’ and I’ll be saying ‘Megan be quiet!’

“Some people understand, some people think I’m weird and antisocial, but I just keep my head down and enjoy what I’m doing.”