Euromilhões Lisboa - Dakar 2007 : Dakar

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Carlos Sainz (SPA): “I will arrive better prepared”

After Ari Vatanen, Juha Kankkunen and Colin McRae, another multiple rally World champion showed up at the start of the Dakar last year and what a champion he is: Spaniard Carlos Sainz, 26 triumphs in WRC. Crowned in 1990 and 1992, the Madrid native also finished runner-up on four occasions and during his 17 years in WRC went on the final World championship overall podium 11 times. And that’s perhaps the former Spanish squash champion’s biggest asset: consistency in his performances. Proof of that are his 97 podiums in WRC races.

After 17 seasons in the World rally championship and despite a thirst for speed and a pleasure to drive that remained well present, as he showed with his 4th and 3rd positions in Turkey and Greece while he came to help out the Citroen team standing in for François Duval, “the Emperor” decided at the end of 2004 to let the young take over in WRC. But after spending a few months with his family, Carlos Sainz rapidly received quite a few offers and among all of them, Volkswagen’s offer right from the start of the 2005 season with the goal to see him compete in the Dakar. A difficult offer to refuse for this passionate driver who also loves Real Madrid.

At 43 years of age, Carlos Sainz therefore showed up last year at the start of the Dakar with the reputation of being an eternal winner, although he insisted victory wasn’t his goal for his first appearance. An absolute beginner in rally-raid, the Spaniard had first intended on testing himself out in the discipline during the rally of Egypt and then in Dubai. Volkswagen having finally decided not to go on these two events and preferring to focus on long private test sessions, the Spaniard ended up having driven his Race Touareg 2 in race conditions only on the occasion of the Portalegre Baja, on a terrain that is very similar to what he knew in WRC. The fiery Spaniard however adapted rather quickly. Carlos Sainz then witnessed the Dakar, finishing 11th, 10 hours behind Alphand but failing to manage Ari Vatanen’s performance, who had claimed his first Dakar for his first attempt in 1987…

‘’Despite all the information I was given, there’s nothing like a personal picture that one can take on an event. I had never taken part in an African race. Now that’s done and I have a lot more information”. More experience and quite a few satisfactions with Sainz indeed claiming four specials which made him the car winner of the most stages in the 2006 Dakar. The first two covered in Portugal and then the ones finishing in Ouarzazate and Kayes. Knowing the sense of competition that Sainz has, one could well believe that his second Dakar might be slightly different although the Spaniard wants to take it easy: “The objective is to fight so that the team wins. I know that everyone says that but it’s really true in a race like the Dakar where we know that everything can happen. One thing is for sure: I will arrive better prepared”. And that, in Sainz language means competitive.

Chris Blais: “Take it easy, but ride at full speed”

Could Chris Blais become the first American to win the Dakar? If you consider his rides in the African dunes, the question does not appear inappropriate. Two years ago, in his debut in the African rally raid, the American had never set a wheel in Africa. Worse still, it was his first participation in a rally where road book navigation is given so much importance. However, the American finished 9th that year! And he reached the 4th position last year. “My only objective now is the podium. I have trained with that aim”, says Chris Blais. 2006 was a particularly busy year for the rider from Florida. After a wonderful race on the Dakar, Chris repeated the experience on other races such as Vegas-Reno (3rd), the Rally of Morocco (10th), the Henderson solo (4th) and the Rally of Dubai (5th). “I have been able to practise a great deal navigating in Dubai and Morocco. This important part of the Dakar has not come naturally to me because in the United States, most of the races don’t involve road rook navigation”, explains the rider.

But riding a bike undoubtedly did come naturally for him. Before he turned three, Blais’ parents, who both ride motorbikes, offered him his first bike, which had a 70 cc engine. Chris has never given up the handlebar since, with the support of his father who was the first to teach him the ropes. Chris Blais started competing when he was 16 and signed a contract with the KTM – Red Bull Dakar Rally Team two years ago. The challenge taken up by this team is clear, but complex: they want to bring an American to the podium of the Dakar. Blais will face his team’s challenge alone this year. “It is hard when you do not have a team mate to share the experience of the Dakar. But I will be fine and I will focus on the race”. And Chris will be keeping an eye on the most experienced riders, as he has come to know their qualities in the two previous editions. “The top riders like Marc Coma are impressive. I particularly admire their capacity to ‘take it easy’ while they are riding at full speed. At least his competitors know what to expect: the American is watching carefully and he is a quick learner…

Hans Bekx: Back from the exile

Hans Bekx is no longer in good terms with the regulations. In 2005, Hans was flying on the African pistes and about to make his best result on the Dakar with a second position in the overall standing before the last stage. But during a routine inspection, the stewards found three elements on his truck that did not comply with the regulations. Consequently, the friendly entrepreneur from Maria-Heide was disqualified only 31km from the finish line! The driver was fuming…

Last year, Hans Bekx arrived in Lisbon with a superb DAF truck. After the usual scrutineering, the stewards declared that his vehicle and four other trucks did not comply with the regulations the day before the race. Realising they were fighting a loosing battle, the Dutchmen and their trucks had to take the motorway… back to the Netherlands. The driver was furious again…

Hans Bekx is a real passionate about the Dakar. This former sponsor of Eric Verhoef finally made his debut in the Dakar as competitor in 1998 at the wheel of a Ginaf 560-hp truck. Bekx had to withdraw halfway to Dakar, but this first contact with the rally was enough for the Dutch transport entrepreneur to be bitten by the bug and to find out what it takes to be competitive. However, this was not enough to reach the finish-line in Dakar in his second attempt. So the Dutchman decided to take a year off and to develop a new Ginaf 700-hp truck. The changes made allowed him to reach the Pink Lake (Retba) and claim the 8th position in the truck category in 2001. He equalled this result in 2004 after quitting Ginaf for DAF. But his best performance only dates back to 2005, the year he was ejected from the race. That year, from the start, the Dutchman positioned himself as one of the most dangerous outsiders for the Tsar Chagin by winning the first two specials, and then a third in Stage 11. But while the general victory was predestined for Kabirov, Hans Bekx was disqualified. Given this disappointment, added to the one he had last year the day before the race, one can easily imagine that Bekx has come to the Dakar 2007 with energy and motivation to spare. He hopes to cling one of the first positions and even hopefully climb on the podium. At least the Dutchman is not superstitious: this year again, he will show up at scrutineering with the same truck. He and his team have worked all year to come to good terms with the regulations, but above all to lay eyes, as soon as possible, on the African landscape…

Kutlu Torunlar (TUR): “Arrive in Dakar in one piece”

Kutlu Torunlar is both an accomplished athlete and a self-aware reckless competitor. Kutlu Torunlar is actually one of the two Turks on the Dakar. He defended the colours of Turkey in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and in Atlanta in 1996 in windsurf. He also raced the Camel Trophy, “8 000 km of hell between Santiago de Chile and the Tierra del Fuego”. This 38-year-old rider mainly loves doing sports because he enjoys adrenaline boosts as much as hard work: “I race the Dakar because it is the toughest of all races and competitors have a lot to endure”. So to make sure he gets his dose of adrenaline and to respect the spirit of the pioneers of the rally, he decided to race without assistance. His only support will be Kemal Merkit, the first Turk who raced on the Dakar and who is no other than his business partner.

As all rookies, Kutlu is going to ride to the unknown. “All I can imagine about the race is fruit of my imagination”. His major asset is certainly navigation. “I like the new regulations because this change implies a come back to the traditional type of navigation similar to what I need to do when I go sailing out at sea”. However, the rocky trails are not his cup of tea and he will have to bear until the Mauritanian dunes where he will finally be able to show his capacity to ride in extreme conditions. This competitor who always strives for more has great expectations for his first participation: “First of all, I intend to reach Dakar in one piece if possible, but I am not here on holiday. My true aim is to reach the Top 20 in the 450 category, or even the Top 5 if it all goes smoothly”. At the end of the day, Kutlu Torunlar has no fears, or hardly any: “My wife, she worries very much and always wonders when it is going to stop! Especially because she recovered me in pieces several times! But she knows these challenges are essential for my personal balance, otherwise I would get bored to death”.

Javier Arenas: “Our objective is 4,000 sponsors”

Javier Arenas and Carlos Reig are racing their second Dakar this year, but it will be like their first time. For these two men from Barcelona, sports are important, but generosity is just as important. The two competitors were a bit disappointed last year as they could not carry out a humanitarian operation worthy of the name. But this year the members of the Pelayo-Aldeas Infantiles Team arrive at the starting line in Lisbon with a smile. “We have wanted to carry out a humanitarian action since we decided to race the Dakar”, says Javier Arenas, the driver. “A few months ago we reached an agreement with Children’s Villages after we noticed something quite obvious: the itinerary of the race passes more or less through the towns where this association is present.”
Children’s Villages, Aldeas Infantiles in Spanish, is an organisation active on all continents and helps children and young people by providing them assistance and training where they live. “Our purpose is to provide help, but also to create. The young people that Children’s Villages works with are given the necessary elements to be able to work where they live. We find this approach positive because it tackles the local problems and avoids people migrating out of despair”.
In concrete terms, the synergies between the two competitors and the NGO have lead to a project aimed at finding sponsors for 4,000 young Africans during the two weeks of the rally. The sponsors would pay 300 euros per year. If you are interested, please check their website at www.undakardiferente.org or do not hesitate to call their toll-free number: +34.902.100.136.
As Javier and Carlos are ready to go all the way, they have also foreseen what comes after the Dakar: “We will tour the shopping centres once we come home and showcase an exhibition with pictures of the race and of the centres where the young people are hosted”. Pelayo, a Spanish insurance company, is the major sponsor of the team and also contributes in this humanitarian fight by trying to get its clients involved: “This is the comeback of this company that was once a major sponsor with the victory as objective and now wishes a simple and ethical participation in the Dakar”, says Javier Arenas.