Kolomý Plans to Fight for Dakar Bedouin!
Prague – Martin Kolomý will appear at the start of the jubilee 40th edition of the Dakar Rally with a strong ambition to succeed. The winner of two Dakar stages wants to bring his Tatra truck to the victory marked with receipt of the Bedouin statuette given to the top three ranks in each category. The other truck will be driven by Martin Šoltys.
For a fifth time Kolomý will become pilot number one of the Tatra Buggyra Racing team, this year with new crew members, though. Kilian brothers will be replaced by navigator Rostislav Plný and mechanic Jiří Stross. "We have so far just tested together but I think we will soon make a harmonised team together. Rosťa has already raced at marathon competitions and Jirka was with me at the Silk Way," said Kolomý, whose top Dakar rank so far has been the fifth rank in 2013.
The last two Dakar rally editions were not very successful for Kolomý due to technical issues of his truck. "The won stages are fine and I am glad for them but the final result in the finish is what counts. This is a marathon competition. I always say to myself that we will drive on the basis of reason but it is always a big dogfight and not many sections can be traded off," added Kolomý, who ended with the final fifteenth rank this year.
Tatra Buggyra will put three trucks in he rally this time. The second truck will be piloted by Martin Šoltys, and the third, called “quick assistance” by Pavel Vrňák. "This will be the fifth start of this team at Dakar and the goal will be the same as always so far. We will all do our best to bring home a Bedouin. Only this time the team will be a little bigger," said the team manager Jan Kalivoda.
Šoltys will start at Dakar despite the broken vertebra at a race in Hungary in August. “It was certainly a complication an we ad to wait for the development of my health condition. Eventually I am here and prepared to race at my full steam for the best possible result. My main aim is to finish the race, though“. His navigator will be the most experienced Czech Dakar veteran, the sixty-eight-year-old Josef Kalina, who is facing his 26th start at the legendary competition. “I would certainly not join a crew fighting for overall victory anymore. I will be happy to help Martin collect experience,“ said the triple Dakar winner.
Quick assistance for the two trucks will this year be provided by the Adria team consisting of Pavel Vrňák, Petr Lesák and Filip Škrobánek. “We have already participated at the Dakar rally in accompanying trucks but this time we want our dream to come true and so we will join the race as a racing crew. To be quick assistance to the Tatra Buggyra Racing and MP Sports teams is an excellent opportunity for us to gain experience and possibly join further editions with a bigger ambition,“ said the pilot of the crew Pavel Vrňák.
The press conference was also attended by the press speaker of the Tatra Trucks company Mr. Andrej Čírtek. For Tatra the venue of the Dakar rally is very interesting. “In the past we supplied to South America a couple of trucks and so this market is interesting for us. Thanks to the cooperation with the Buggyra Racing team we can increase our visibility in this region even more, “ said Čírtek.
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