Heavy Downpour Welcomed Dakar Crews
This very Sunday will be marked with the start of the most famous long-distance race in the world, the Dakar Rally. Thus the crews already impatiently gather in the birthplace of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, in Rosario, Argentina, where the famous competition will be launched by a big ceremony. Following a difficult journey the Czech crew of the Tatra Buggyra Racing team is on the spot already as well, tuning up the last details before the start.
"We experienced extremely strong turbulences in the plane. I must admit that at one moment I was even afraid that we might not finish the journey by successful landing in the port of destination at all. The weather was horrible, and the downpour was heavy, but eventually we were luckier than some of our colleagues," described the landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the racing pilot Martin Kolomý.
Eventually all crews arrived in the venue without harm and on time. "I am glad everything arrived with us in time and without damage. We transported over a quarter ton of materials including nutritional supplements by Nutrend. When anything goes wrong, unnecessary complications follow, but so far we have been lucky enough. Otherwise we have addressed minor scars resulting from the journey, but certainly nothing serious. The technology is in excellent condition and ready for the start," pilot Kolomý drew breath saying that on Friday the team will undergo the technical takeover and a mass signature job. "The sky is overcast but the rain stopped. And even though it was very cold in the night, now the thermometers have risen up to twenty. The atmosphere is excellent and the air breathes with the pleasant tension before a race," reported Martin Kolomý from the venue in early Friday morning.
After the technical takeover the Fat Boy, as his Tatra is nicknamed, will be transported to parc ferme, where, together with the other racing specials, the truck will wait for the ceremonial opening of the race on Saturday.
However, Dakar is not a place to rest. The truck section of the race will welcome as many as eight Czech crews. In addition to Tatra 815 Buggyra the 13-litre Gyrtech racing engine will propel four competitors of Tatra. "Technical support for the engine will be provided by us to three crews of the Bonver Dakar project and to Jarda Valtr of KM Racing. Vildman´s Liaz will also use our engine, albeit adapted. I believe that the technology will work for all of us and we will enjoy a pleasant Dakar," smiled the technical director of Buggyra Robin Dolejš.
This year ´s Dakar Rally will be one of the longest. The truck pilots will have to drive altogether for more than nine thousand kilometres, of which over five thousand will be measured. They will have to cover this distance in less than two weeks. The race will be started in Rosario, Argentina, on 5 January and finished in Valparais, Chile, on 18 January. Motorcyclists will visit Bolivia in the context of the race, which the truckers will not. The crew of the Tatra Buggyra Racing team has the highest ambitions with the brand new truck but tries to avoid strong statements. "Competition is healthy and very strong this year. There are five new Kamaz trucks, new MANs and Ivecos, and on top of that the boys from the Czech Republic, and so the race will certainly be very interesting and there will not be shortage of strong rivals. Good luck will govern the event. The race is long and not only reliability of the pilot but also reliability of the technology counts. When all of this avoids failing we are up to a good result. I also dream about winning Dakar once," said pilot Martin Kolomý, who ranked fifth last year as the best Czech pilot. This year he will employ the same crew as last year, his co-pilot and his navigator being brothers René and David Kiliáns of Plzen.
