Buggyraracing

Famous Czech designer and constructor of vehicles Václav Král creates a new logo. The name Baghira was inspired by the black panther in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Few years later this logo will be the base of BUGGYRA brand.

The Tatra Baghira was a dune buggy designed by Václav Král in the 1970s. It was TATRA 603H engined, tube frame body wiht rear wheel drive, single seater autocross special.

The Škoda Baghira Spider was a two-door two-seater spider with an engine in the middle (in front of the rear axle) and rear-wheel drive. Various engines were considered for this unique vehicle, with the final iteration having an output of 136 kW (185 hp) at 7500 rpm. It was also equipped with a mechanical five-speed gearbox and reached a maximum speed of 230 km / h.

 

Martin Koloc creates new IMC Racing team to participatein czech national Ford Fiesta Cup with his sister Marketa. He then gains an internationla racing license and moves to circuit truck racing championship, He finishes 7th overall despite his LIAZ being down on power.

 

New name, new racetruck, new division. Out of 36 starts Koloc takes 27 podiums, 19 of which are top spots. He wins his first qualifying session on the second race weekend of the season and takes his first win a week later. However he loses the championship battle just by 6 points due to a puncture in the last round. "Only" vicechampion title for Koloc in his first full season.

 

Noone can doubt Koloc's racing skills. 34 podium finishes, 20 of those golden, out of 40 races together with four maximum point score weekends means that Koloc takes the championship trophy at the end of the season. He is also awarded the Golden steering wheel (a trophy for the best czech racing driver of the year) 

 

Another successful season for Koloc. 31 trophies out of 40 starts, including 16 first places. Second championship title in a row and another Golden steering wheel for Koloc.

 

New Praga TN 24.420 racetruck revealed in front of Prague castle. Koloc starts the season with hattrick of wins and one third place. However colision at round four has a huge impact to the so far successful season as  Koloc's truck is wrecked. Not even full point score in front of home crowd, 14 wins, eight 2nd and five 3rd place finishes in total couldn't bring back the points lost in the fourth round. Koloc takes third place overall and a trophy for crash of the year.

The team changes its name to ProCa-PTE-Holoubek and builds two new SISU trucks. One for Koloc, the other for his new team mate, young national jetski champion David Vrsecky. Koloc discovered Vrsecky racing in virtual simulators. Vrsecký places 13th in his first ever real circuit racing event, meanwhile Koloc still places at the top of the standings. Occasional technical problems mean loss of precious points and Koloc again finishes third overall.

Singer and autocross racer Daniel Landa replaces Vrsecký. British Chris Tucker in for distanced Koloc during the season. Landa takes the best rookie of the year award and finishes on joint 6th place overall with Tucker.

Female driver Lenka Vlachova as new teammate for Landa and back to Tucker as Vlachova simply didn't show up for the race in Nogaro. Landa scores podium finishes at all of the ten rounds, having won only one race however, he takes fifth overall. Tucker 7th at the end of the season.

Koloc closes a deal with investment group Ryss & Lynx and together they create private truck racing team with its own developed technologies. Buggyra.

Buggyra enters the prestigious SUPER truck category. German champion Gerd Körber gets the seat in brand new racing truck designed by Václav Král (video). The premiere season is a struggle for survival, but the team gains valuable experience. Martin Koloc receives an award from FIA for the greatest contribution to truck racing during the post season gala evening.

The team introduces two Super truck racing specials and  David Vrsecký as a new team mate to Körber (video). Vrsecky gets his first podium finish in Nogaro, France. Gerd Körber takes his first win for Buggyra in Zolder, Belgium, and eventually, the premium European champion title for BUGGYRA. Vršecký becomes Rookie of the year!

Gerd Körber as the first pilot in history defends the super truck title. They score the first double for BUGGYRA together with David Vrsecky  at Nogaro. For the first time the team races with 3 trucks in the championship, the third red BUGGYRA is piloted by the Spanish matador Albacete. David Vršecký wins his first truck race at the famous Nürburgring and finishes the season at 3rd place overall!

After the season end the team sets off for an expedition to Middle Eeast for an attempt at overcoming the world speed record in February 2004.

In the course of the Dubai exhibition the racing team attends the local Shopping Festival, and finally organises a World Speed Record attack to overcome the current speed record for 1 km with passing start. The event is held on a closed local motorway (Dubai). Vršecký overcomes the record by his very first attempt and with his speed of 281,723 km/h enters the FIA tables as the new record holder (video).

Ludovic Faure replaces Körber behind the whell of Buggyra Super truck special as Körber moves to the new RACE TRUCK class and tests the new Buggyra racetruck special for the following season.

The SUPER category is cancelled and replaced by the RACE category. Buggyra again represented by the pair of pilots Körber-Vršecký, with occasional entrance of another czech Adam Lacko in a third race truck. The season ends in an overwhelming tempo - Körber wins four of the six closing cup races and ranks third overall. The new racing special is a success and the new GYRTECH engines with identification 3EC promise future success.

Sad news ant the end of the season as the spiritual father of the Buggyra brand, Václav Král, dies at the age of 69!

Körber parts with Buggyra as vice-champion to be replaced by the Swiss pilot Bösiger for the following season. David Vršecký ranks fifth overall after challenging season. Due to delayed completion of the motorway to Hradec Králové, postponed till December, the planned attempt at overcoming own world speed record and a new entry in the book of records for 1 km with flying start failed due to unfavourable weather (video).

Buggyra wins  five of the nine cup races. First ever victory in the Constructors´ Cup for Buggyra by the duo Vršecký-Bösiger. Buggyra dominates the championship and Bösiger takes the title by one point over Albacete. Despite  protests from Albacete regarding a claimed illegal move from Bösiger, the results stands and Bösiger wins his first title.

After a decade in truck racing David Vršecký wins his first European champion title (video)! Together with Bösiger they again win the team championship and add 6th European champions title to the Buggyra name in 8 years of its existence.

David Vršecký also breaks another speed record, this time 1 km standing start. The new speed record is set to 171.878 kph (video). However due to an administrative error of the Czech Automotive Club the record is not official.

The Bösiger-Vršecký duo, sovereingly defends the Constructors´ Cup title! Vršecký wins the second champion title and takes the Golden Steering Wheel from ´Tomas Enge who has been winning it for the past 9 years.

The SPEED racing special significantly contributes to the successful test of the prototype propulsion engine built in cooperation with the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Discovery Channel TV crew visits Buggyra Technology Center to cover the team's preparation for next season in Mega World Czech Republic. The Buggyra team is featured side by side with the Prague Castle management, Pilsner Urquell or the Czech Semtex as one of the few Czech companies with international relevance (video).

Not enough for Buggyra, Vršecký sets to break another speed records. He fails the first time on german Lausitsring. That doesnť stop him however and three days later he writes three speed records to his name at Dekra testing circuit. The technical director Mario Kress is replaced by duo David Vršecký – Robin Dolejš. For the racing season Bösiger is replaced with Uwe Nittel.

At the beginning of the year the Vršecký and Dolejš  head to participate in the famous Dakar Rally. David Vršecký as a crew member in the truck piloted by Marek Spáčil and Robin Dolejš as technical supervisor. The mission ends in a fiasco after Spáčil rolls twice over the roof in the 2nd stage and Dolejš spends the rest of Dakar in the hospital with Kolomý (after an accident) as translator.

For circuit racing Nittel is replaced by the British pilot Chris Levett. Vrsecky facing hard times and getting into many crashes (video).

First time the Buggyra Gyrtech engine has been used in Dakar rally truck. It powers the Tatra of Martin Kolomý whom it successfuly brought to the finish. Martin takes the seventh overall place on his first ever finish of the famous rally.

For the first time since 2001 Buggyra enters the circuit season with one truck only. Thus all eyes look towards David Vršecký, who ends the season in the fifth overall position third year in a row.

As part of engine testing before the upcoming Dakar rally, Buggyra sets to break its own endurance records. In April, at the proven German Dekra circuit, David Vršecký breaks three long distance records with: 100 km – 185.316 kph, 100 miles – 186.755 kph, 1 hr – 187.518 kph, respective speeds all with standing start (video).

The circuit season ends with the same result as the year before, Vršecký ranks fifth overall. For the first time, there was a girl sitting behind the stearing wheel of Buggyra truck - famous German DTM driver Ellen Lohr.

Buggyra signs the factory support contract with  TATRA trucks and reveals a brand new revolutionary Dakar concept Tatra 815 Buggyra, called FATBOY (video).

 

 

The premiere start of the TATRA BUGGYRA Racing team at Dakar ends in stage 8. Despite not reaching the finish Buggyra's performance at Dakar and Kolomý´s three wheeled run were quite popular with the media (video) so Buggyra wins the tender for continuation of cooperation with the TATRA TRUCKS company.

Adam Lacko signs with Buggyra for the circuit racing season and the team wins the vice-champion title in the Constructors´ cup. Lacko ranks fourth overall after his first complete season with Buggyra, showing that cooperation with Vršecký fits him well. David Vršecký finishes fifth overall for the fifth time.

Kalivoda, Vršecký, Kolomý and Lacko end the season with a expedition to China to start long-term cooperation in building the Chinese truck racing championship.

TATRA BUGGYRA Racing in its second year at Dakar attacks Top 10 and sets the best result so far, 7th overall for Martin Kolomý. 

Buggyra wins another European champion title in the Constructors´ Cup – for a ninth time in its existence – after six years! Best season in Lackos racing carrer, he ends with the European vice-champion title.

David Vršecký in new position as chief-constructor builds the TATRA Phoenix racing special for Dakar as well as Chinese championship. Kolomý takes the Chinese champion title.

TATRA BUGGYRA Racing team for the first time with two trucks at the Dakar Rally. First stage victory for Kolomý and Buggyra. However it is the newer Phoenix piloted by Jaroslav Valtr with legendary navigator Josef Kalina that places higher overall in 8th place as Kolomý drops to 17th (video).

Adam Lacko again becomes vice-champion in Europe as well as in China and is awarded the second Golden Steering Wheel in his career.

David Vršecký takes a break from racing after 14 years as he wants to fully focus his time on building new racing specials. He however still races in China where he wins another championship title to his name with the new Tatra Phoenix. He is replaced by Jiri Forman in the European championship (video).

Kolomý  for the first time in the new TATRA Phoenix #2. He collects stage victories at Dakar and Silk Way Rallies, although only reaching the finish in 15th overall due to technical issues. He receives special award for belligerence at Silk Way rally when he is forced to retire from the third overall place in the penultimate stage. The second Tatra Phoenix driven by the experienced Aleš Loprais takes another 7th place finish for TATRA BUGGYRA Racing team at Dakar (video).

Adam Lacko takes his first ever European champion title and the third Golden Steering Wheel in his 15 years of truck racing (video).

Vršecký remains the main trophy collector, though. He returns to racing after a year brake and together with Lacko takes the 11th Constructors' title for Buggyra. Vršecký also wins the Indian champion title in competition of four other European champions and at the end of the year he defends his Chinese champion title (video).

Stage 3 became fatal for Kolomy as he loses precious time. He then manages to pull the gap down, only to finish 11th overal after a driveshaft failure though. Martin Šoltys finished 12th overall on his Dakar rally debut (video).

Vršecký wins 3rd title in China this time with new racing special BUGGYRA ZERO (video). Lacko became 3rd time vice champion, his new teammate Oliver Janes became 3rd overall in Grammar cup and together they took 3rd place in teams (video).

Kolomý retires from the challenging Peruvian Dakar in stage 3 and Martin Šoltys is forced to retira four stages later. After 6 years Kolomy's contract is not prolonged and leaves the team.

A brand new racing special Buggyra VK 50 named after the designer Václav Král is revealed for the ETRC season. Adam Lacko takes 3rd place overall with the VK50. His partner Oly Janes is saying goodbye to the European Championship by winning the Grammar Cup (video).

2019 also marks further expansion of Buggyra brand with the acquisition of Micanek Motorsport and their Lamborghini Super Trofeo campaign as well as new entry to the side-by-side category with the brand new Buggyra Can-Am MK50XRS buggy.

The season ends with a spectacular 50th anniversary celebration of the Buggyra brand foundation, at the Most autodrome.

Buggyra sent a bigger team to the first-ever Dakar in Saudi Arabia, where the 42nd edition of the famous rally rad has moved after Africa and South America. Apart from the TATRA Phoenix, the team has also prepared a new Can-Am MK50 XRS special for the brand-new category SSV, driven by a legend and a 5-time Dakar Rally winner Josef Macháček. The mission was successful as Macháček and Šoltys finished the race (video).

After that, the whole world was hit by a COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the rest of the year 2020. However, the BUGGYRA team still raced in a big style. In March, the team has introduced the new Mercedes GT3 project led by Tomáš Enge, the only Czech driver in Formula 1 (video). The team also took part in several virtual racing series, including ESET iSeries, which was won by Josef Záruba from Mičánek Motorsport and a speed rivalry between Lamborghini and Mercedes was won by just a 15-year-old Aliyyah Koloc, that set new world truck speed record on 500 metres with both, standing and rolling starts (video).

The truck racing championship began unusually in late August in Most, Czech Republic. While it was later decided that the championship title will not be awarded, Adam Lacko managed to win in 10 out of 17 races with a new DV50 Special. Meanwhile, Aliyyah Koloc became the youngest-ever driver in the series, and she quickly found her place amongst the fastest European truck racing drivers. She even took a victory at Nogaro, France. Another young driver, Téo Calvet, showed huge potential and proved that a championship-winning legacy of Körber – Bösiger – Vršecký – Lacko, is going to continue in the near future.

It was also another successful season for the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra AACR team. Libor Dvořáček and Kurt Wagner finished in 2nd place in the Super Trofeo Europe in their category. The Buggyra Academy driver Michal Makeš also shown some great performances as a rookie in the TCR Eastern Europe series, where he finished in 3rd place overall. Yasmeen Koloc then won the Endurance TC 2.0 championship in her first season of racing in the ESET Cup series.

The speed rivalry between a Lamborghini and a Mercedes became a popular thing during the COVID crisis (video).

In the very first weeks of the new year, Buggyra touched the motorsport Olympus when Josef Macháček in a Can-Am DV21 sensationally dominated the T3 light prototype category at the Dakar Rally. After five victories on quads, the veteran celebrated his sixth triumph on the 4 x 4 special, and was one of the few drivers to dominate the most famous long-distance event on three continents. Tomáš Enge's tenth place can also be considered a success.  Also the truck category drivers, Ignacio Casale and Martin Šoltys took the top ten positions, moreover Casale, a three-time winner among the quads, was the only one in the top 10 with a manual gearbox in his debut in the trucks category. (video)

While last year was more of an introduction of the Buggyra Academy to the Motorsport world, this year the young guns have already proved themselves on a very high level. Aliyyah Koloc managed to win on her off-road debut in Hail International Rally, with Yasmeen Koloc finishing in 3rd place. (video)

And while Aliyyah, as the youngest woman to enter the truck racing series, enjoyed success in both, the European and France championships, Yasmeen scored points in the ESET Cup series. Young ladies were joined by the youngest French truck racing championship winner Téo Calvet (video), who also was successful in Hail International Rally, taking a victory in the first stage and finishing in 3rd place in the overall standings. Thanks to that, he is now preparing to race in the Trucks category at the Dakar Rally.

Adam Lacko also did well in the European Truck Racing Championship, as he faced difficult competition from factory teams. Yet, the 2017 European champion was able to finish in 3rd place and he is now the only truck racing driver to always finish in the TOP 3 since the 2015 season. And, Lacko and Calvet managed to take 3rd place in the Constructors standings. (video)

Just a 21-year-old Michal Makeš managed to win the TCR Eastern Europe series together with the Mičánek Motorsport powered by Buggyra team, after a victory in the final race of the season (video).

In November, Bronislav Formánek and Josef Záruba took 3rd place overall in the prestigious Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe series in the Pro-AM category. Libor Dvořáček, who took part in the LC category, but missed half of the season due to the injury from the beginning of the year, took three podiums and finished in 6th place overall. (video) 

The year 2022 will be recorded forever in the history of Buggyra ZM Racing as the most diverse season ever. The team and its drivers competed in an unprecedented number of  different championships, from GT to NASCAR, from Rally Raid to Truck Racing.

Off-road performance with great results

Very first weeks of the new year brought a challenging test in the form of Dakar Rally. And  Buggyra was by no means lost on the Saudi Arabian terrain. Although team lost its debutant Téo Calvet in truck category just before the start, experienced Ignacio Casale managed to cope with the adversity in the Tatra. Similarly, Dakar doyen Josef Macháček overcame all pitfalls of the track in his Can-Am special in the T3 Light Prototypes category. (video)

The 2022 off-road season was mainly intended to be a preparation for the twins Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc to participate in their first Dakar. In addition, Aliyyah, driving for Buggyra Academy, celebrated with the team a great result by becoming the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas champion. Although she is only eighteen years old, she proved her talent in those four demanding rallies and won both the overall category as well as the T3 ‚buggy‘ category. This is the first time that such a young champion, and woman at that, has achieved this kind of success in offroad racing on the Arabian Peninsula. (video)

Hard work on circuits

Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc recorded two big debuts in 2022 as members of Buggyra Academy. They were the first sisters to compete in the EuroNASCAR series in which Aliyyah fought for the Women's Cup for a long time. The sisters also shared their Mercedes-AMG GT4 (along with Adam Lacko) at Buggyra's debut in the 24h Endurance Series, the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. In addition, Aliyyah also competed successfully in the French GT4 championship. (NASCAR video) (GT4 video)

Success in the fastest cup series

Jiří Mičánek's team excelled in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. In the first part of the season in the fastest cup in the world they had to overcome adversity followed by great results. They were crowned by Broněk Formánek - Karol Basz after winning the Pro-AM class in both races in Barcelona, where they were also always ranked in the top 5 overall. Formánek ended the season with a third place in the final Pro-AM rankings. In addition, Jiří Mičánek junior became the Czech hill climb vice-champion. (video)

Youth forward!

Buggyra Academy achieved another big success in the Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championhip. Téo Calvet confirmed his talent and, as the reigning French champion, he succeeded on the next level by winning the Promoter's Cupwhere he was able to defeat a number of more experienced competitors from Great Britain, Germany, and Portugal. In addition, the young Frenchman found himself twice in the highest position of the overall rankings. (video)

Truck farewell after 30 years

In addition to Calvet's results, Adam Lacko also triumphed twice, making for a dignified farewell for Buggyra from truck racing. As one of the most successful teams in the history of this championship, Martin Koloc, Buggyra’s team principal, considered carefully the next steps of his team, and, at the end of 2022, decided it was time to move on. The team will now be concentrating on endurance racing, with the 24h of Le Mans being a middle-term target and on long-distance rally raids, including the Dakar Rally. (video)

Ceremony Dakar departure from Rudolfinum (Prague)

Just 37 days remaining to the start of Dakar Rally 2023 and one of the biggest team Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing introduced itself to the fans. As location, they chose the in front of monumental Rudolfinum building, and silhouette of Prague Castle looked down on the Tatras from above. For luck, drivers and other team people heard fanfare played by brass section of the Czech Philharmonic. (video)

The year 2023 marked the start of a new era for Buggyra, ushering in a series of firsts in the team's history. It signified a pivotal moment in Buggy racing, featuring numerous successes on various circuits. The team's global prominence was underscored by the debut of its first female driver on the African continent.

Moving up to the absolute elite

Aliyyah Koloc took part at the Dakar Rally for the first time in her career. 18 years old driver started in the T3 - Light Prototypes category behind the wheel of the Buggyra Can-AM DV23. The debutant managed to get into the top 10 in the stage results, finishing 33rd overall. In the same category, veteran Josef Macháček made his 20th Dakar start and finished 11th.

Buggyra could not be absent in the truck category. Jaroslav Valtr in a Tatra even led the competition in the first week, eventually coming in for an excellent fifth place. Martin Šoltys, in another Tatra truck, finished just behind his teammate in sixth place. For the first time, a Slovak driver competed for Buggyra in the Dakar Rally, Róbert Kasák was classified in 16th position. And Buggyra was also represented in the Dakar Classic for the first time. The Slovak driver Radovan Kazarka, who was navigated by the legendary Josef Kalina, was third in his category with Tatra Puma. (video)

Following the Dakar rally, Aliyyah Koloc transitioned to the most potent car available for long-distance racing, the T1+ (now Ultimate) class special. Piloting the Red-Lined REVO T1+, she successfully completed two rounds of the South African Rally Raid Championship, culminating in her preparation for the 2024 Dakar Rally at Baja Dubai. (video) 

An endurance success story

Buggyra ventured into the circuits to contend in the 24H Series endurance championship. Despite being newcomers, the team adeptly navigated the challenges of the new environment, particularly the extraordinary duration of the races. The trio of Adam Lacko, David Vršecký, and Aliyyah Koloc clinched victory in their class with the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the 6-hour race in Abu Dhabi and the 12-hour race at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps track. In the European championship of this series Buggyra also completed the premiere 24-hour race in Barcelona and celebrated second place overal, securing the position through five podium finishes. Aliyyah Koloc emerged as the top woman in the championship and secured the second spot in the GT Junior standings. (video)

Central European Champions

Participating in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, Jiří Mičánek's team engaged in intense competition. Despite facing technical issues, Karosl Basz and Bronislav Formanek reached the podium twice in the Pro-Am category. The inaugural season of the junior team marked a dominant performance in the ESET Cup and the Czech Republic GTC class championship. Jáchym Galáš claimed the title, with Matěj Pavlíček completing the double. (video) (video)

 King of France Téo I.

While Buggyra did not clinch the entire FIA ETRC Championship this time, Adam Lacko made a significant impact in the European Championship race in Most. The 2017 season champion transformed his sole appearance into a sensational Saturday victory and secured a second-place finish on Sunday. (video)

The team's truck efforts were directed towards Buggyra Academy France's participation in the fiercely contested French truck racing championship. The outcome was a resounding triumph. Téo Calvet dominated the overall classification, Raphaël Sousa emerged as the best among the Juniors, and the Calvet-Sousa duo accumulated the most points in the team standings. (video)