Since 1979, January has been synonymous for motoring fans with the date of the toughest marathon in the world – the Dakar Rally . This will be the seventh time that it will be held on the South American continent . The start will take place on January 4, and the lucky ones will see the finish ramp on January 17. The start and finish are located in Buenos Aires , Argentina, but the route will lead the competitors through Bolivia and Chile . Motorcycles and ATVs will travel 9,295 km, cars 9,111 km, and trucks will travel "only" 8,159 km. There are also two marathon stages on the program, when their accompanying teams will not have access to the competitors. The day off for those behind the wheel will be January 10, those sitting behind the wheels will rest until January 12.
Among the motorcycles , the biggest favorite is definitely the KTM brand and its leader – four-time Dakar winner Marc Coma . However, Honda riders led by Joan Barreda and Yamaha riders with Olivier Pain will also want to make his race difficult. The Frenchmen Duclos and Planet will ride Sherco bikes again and try to get more good results like last year when they won several stages. We will no longer see the famous name of Petronelli among the four-wheelers, as even his younger brother will not be at the start after last year's accident. The favorite is Chillan Casale and Pole Sonik .
In the car category , the Mini team is the main favorite with the Countryman ALL4 Racing specials. Orlando Terranova , Krysztof Holowczyc , Nasser Al-Attiyah and especially last year's winner Nani Roma will be behind their wheels. However, Stéphane Peterhansel (six-time motorcycle and five-time car winner, he won two victories with the Mini car) left the team after last year's disagreements regarding the team management, and he will now sit as the team's number one driver in the Peugeot 2008 DKR buggy. His teammates will be Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres , who also left the motorcycle category. Toyota could also be traditionally strong, whose main star is Giniel de Villiers – winner of the first South American Dakar. The popular American stormtrooper Robby Gordon in his Hummer buggy will also be present, as well as Mitsubishi Pajero , Ford Raptor , Renault Duster and SMG buggies.
In the Czech Republic (but also in Holland and Russia), the most watched category of trucks also has clear favorites – the Kamaz Master team and its trio of drivers Karginov , Nikolaev and Mardeev , who will provide Sotnikov as quick assistance. In Holland, they have already presented two nosed Iveca Powerstars , which will be driven by Gérard de Rooy and Hans Stacey , in the Trakker type they will be secured by Pep Vila . The Dutch MAN cars will certainly be strong, driven this year by Aleš Loprais (start number 503), whose Tatra Jamal was not allowed to start, and on the contrary, Marcel van Vliet , who is quite traditional. Van Ginkel and Lammers will drive the traditionally strong GINAF cars.
Czech motorcyclist David Pabiška is preparing for his ninth start. But Jan Veselý is already among the seasoned bikers on the Dakar. In addition to them, two newcomers will appear on KTM motorcycles – Milan Engel and Ondřej Klymčiw . Pabiška and Engle will then ride together in the MRG SP Moto team. The third newcomer is Zdeněk Gottvald , who rides a Husqvarna motorcycle. Štefan Svitko and Ivan Jakeš will defend Slovak colors. Svitko will also ride a KTM motorcycle and try to attack his best result – fifth place from 2012. This is his sixth start at the Dakar. Jakeš will also ride a KTM , this year he will start for the eighth time and his highest was even fourth place in 2013.
Although we do not officially have representation in the car category, you can follow the performance of Czech-Australian Petr Jerie , who will drive a Toyota HiLux car and number 358 for his Rally OZ team.
We have already said that one of the Czech favorites, Aleš Loprais , is forced to start with a MAN car this year. Due to the use of a long cabin and hood at the same time, it is not possible to homologate his Tatra and assign it to any of the manufactured Tatra car types. The commissioners did not extend him last year's exception. The Czech truck with the highest ambition for a good position thus remains mainly the Tatra 815 Buggyra Fat Boy , which will be piloted by Martin Kolomý . On the door, this crew wears the number 506. The Bonver Dakar Project sends the largest team into battle. Kazakh Artur Ardavichus (515), Czech Tomáš Vrátný (517) and Pole Robert Szutkowski (539) will start on the three Yamal Tatras . In addition, drivers Martin van den Brink and Pascal de Baar joined the joint team with Bonver, who will pilot Renault K Mammomet . Tatras and Renaults are united by the use of the same Czech MKR Technology engines. Last but not least, the Liaz 111.154 from the KM Racing team will also start at the Dakar, which will be piloted by Martin Macík Jr. (525) for the first time this year. His father has the best Czech result in South America in the same car – fourth place. Under number 563, you will find another Tatra 815 on the start list, which will be piloted by Slovakian Robo Kasák in the Rally OZ team. This car will serve as Peter Jerie's fast assistance. If you carefully examine the start list, you will discover another Tatra special under number 536, this time it is a Phoenix type. It is a car driven twice by Marcel Schoo for Dakar Team Holland, but this year it has been leased to Riwald Dakar Team and is driven by the Dutchman Huzink .
Photo: Pages and FB of Czech teams
