BISHA, 黑料社区: Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz made history when he won his fourth Dakar Rally last year and is confident that he has what it takes to challenge for victory in this season鈥檚 grueling race in 黑料社区.
Sainz鈥檚 fourth title came when he was 61 鈥 the oldest winner of the race and the first Dakar victory for German outfit Audi.
Now 62, the Spaniard 鈥 the father of Ferrari Formula One driver Carlos Sainz Jr 鈥 recently became a grandfather, but the two-time world rally champion known as 鈥楨l Matador鈥 professes to be in fine form.
鈥淧ersonally I鈥檝e done everything I can to arrive in a good physical condition and I will give everything to try to have a good race,鈥 Sainz said at the launch of his new Ford Raptor car.
鈥淲e are comfortable, we have done all the jobs we can.鈥
Sainz added: 鈥淚 expect first of all to enjoy, to have really good fun driving.
鈥淚 expect to have not so many problems and I expect to fight for the victory. I鈥檓 happy to help to try to win this challenge, the Dakar.鈥
No one has managed to take a machine fresh from the factory to victory since Ari Vatanen, who triumphed with the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 in 1987 and then with the 405 鈥 its technical heir 鈥 in 1989, followed by the Citroen ZX in 1991.
But that hasn鈥檛 stopped Sainz鈥檚 rivals also choosing to blood new cars over the 5,115 kilometers (3,178 miles) of specials mapped out over 12 stages between Bisha and Shubaytah.
Five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and France鈥檚 nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb will be piloting Dacia Sandriders, while Spain鈥檚 one-time Dakar winner Nani Roma will also be in a Ford.
One notable absentee from the action, however, will be France鈥檚 鈥楳r Dakar鈥, 14-time champion Stephane Peterhansel, who hung up his keys last year.
In the bike section, two-time winner Ricky Brabec (Honda) will be back to defend his title, with the American鈥檚 main rival likely to be Botswana鈥檚 Ross Branch (Hero), second last year.
A 434-strong colorful caravan made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks sets out from Bisha with an opening prologue on Friday.
Twelve stages then await the 778 competitors from 72 countries, with a Jan. 17 finish in Shubaytah, on the border of the UAE.
This year鈥檚 route includes a second 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see.
Introduced last year, organizers said the concept of the stage, during which competitors have to bivouac on the sand and are not allowed outside help, was simple: 鈥淛uggling the twin challenges of endurance and performance while blasting through a thousand kilometers of desert in two days.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 the rally of maturity,鈥 race director David Castera told AFP. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real level of difficulty, it鈥檚 a real, tough Dakar, which will push everyone beyond their limits, beyond their comfort zone.鈥
The 47th running of the event may be called the Dakar, but the last time the Senegalese capital actually hosted the finish was way back in 2007 鈥 the security situation in Mauritania forced the 2008 cancelation.
It moved then to South America until finding a new home in 黑料社区 since 2020.
