The Dream of Dakar expedition, during which the historic racing car LIAZ 100.55 D , was one of the first Czech participants in the famous Dakar Rally (2 cars left Jablonec at that time) and, above all, the first successful graduate of this competition (the Frenchman Galland gave up in the second car and the rest of the crew arrived in Dakar out of competition), to reach the Pink Lake and pay tribute to all the participants of the toughest marathon competition, she successfully returned home on Tuesday. Yesterday there was a press conference with the participants.
Jíří Moskal , a member of the then successful crew that finished the competition in 13th position, comments on the journey as follows: "We experienced the journey very intensely. In Africa, I deliberately didn't cover a single kilometer, because twenty-seven years ago I declared that I would never do the Dakar again, and I wanted to keep this promise. But I am very happy that we managed to get to the Pink Lake and remember the moment when we were there thirty years ago and also all the people who made a significant contribution to the fact that we could be there." In addition, Jiří Moskal also returned to his motorcycle accident: "I actually don't even know how it happened, the plan was to ride a motorcycle only a few hundred meters. And even against my opinion, I got on the motorcycle without proper shoes, gloves and a helmet. I drove a few hundred meters, then returned to the guys from the expedition. Slow speed because there was a speed bump, but I don't remember more. I was hit by a local van driver who tried to turn into the same parking lot from the opposite direction. I think I did pretty well, I didn't break anything. I just probably scalped half of my head on the bike's license plate, then fell on the windshield of the van. Then I was taken to a local private hospital. They say it was lucky, because in state hospitals it is not so much about treating an injury, but rather about the risk of infection. "
The car's owner, mechanic and driver Tomáš Pour adds to the car's reliability: "Except for a few minor faults, the car worked without any problems. We didn't even puncture the tire. Now the beach is waiting for a cleansing peel from sand and sea salt. Then we will go on some kind of roadshow and present the expedition. There is also an offer that the car could be placed in a museum.”
Petr Kotek recalled interesting moments: "Right at the first dune, we wanted to take interesting photos and shoot an interesting scene for the film. So I drove the Toyota, which we call the Coyote, into the dunes and raked the wheels to make them look like they were stuck. But the car really fell into place. In the end, the climbing frame also fell into place, so just as Jirka Moskal threw a shovel thirty years ago, he repeated this activity even now. In Maretania, we were introduced to the "president of tourism" , who takes care of all organized expeditions, and at the same time, the local police or soldiers follow his regulations. He offered us to call him if there was a problem at the border. It actually happened, but thanks to his phone call and a larger sum of money, we were allowed into the country without any problems." But then we were stunned when he talked about Jiří Moskal's accident: "If you know from Besip's videos of motorcyclist accidents, I should add that Jirka should closed shoes, so it was no fun. As for the investigation, in Africa, no matter what happens, the foreigner is to blame for the accident. And it didn't matter that he had someone's photo stuck on the windshield right in front of him… Finally, I really have to thank all the sponsors and all the ordinary people who contributed to the Dakar Liazka expedition"
Motorcycle journalist Jaroslav Šíma , in turn, recalled his experiences: "It was a great honor for me to accompany this historic truck, and I could really enjoy it, because I simply enjoy riding a motorcycle every time. In addition, we have been to the Dakar six times, including one in South America, so I have a great relationship with this competition. But once I was crazy on the dune a bit more on the motorcycle, the machine had already traveled about 244 thousand kilometers, and the starter went out. Then the motorcycle started on its own, honking and even removing the key did not work. In the end, the guys stretched me, but once it didn't work, I fell, and so our Yeti dragged me another three meters along the asphalt. This is Africa. But I already have another machine lined up, the successor to the Honda Africa Twin. I have this machine at home and I have put 200 thousand kilometers on it, so I am looking forward to this machine next April. And by then I'll probably get my Honda up and running, and I also want to take the Babeta trip with my student friends. Dakar and or Vladivostok are on the cards, I'll see what the guys get excited about."
LIAZ traveled 13,000 kilometers by land and 2,000 by sea. Passenger cars traveled about 12,000 on land and 3,000 by sea. All this with an average consumption of liazka 40 liters per 100 kilometers, passenger cars roughly 15 liters per 100 kilometers. Jaroslav Šíma tried to ride about 6,000 kilometers on his motorcycle, which he lacked for a total of 250,000 kilometers, but unfortunately, due to an accident, the motorcycle has only 3,500 kilometers on its account from Africa. He still needs 2,860 kilometers to reach this goal. If you want to meet the crew and the car live, you can go to one of the events where the participants of the expedition will present themselves with all the cars. The first such exhibition is the Motorcycle exhibition, which will take place on March 5-8 in Prague's Holešovice. We will of course inform you about other events.
