SONIK Rafal POL 03/06/1966 188 cm 81 kg

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
RAPTOR	YAMAHA

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Scratch	4	3	4	10	6	8	3	5	5	6	-	9	7	10
Stage	4	3	4	9	6	8	10	5	6	4	-	8	7	10	-	-
Overall	4	2	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	-	3	3	3	-	-

Rafal Sonik: “I don’t know how my body will adapt”

For his first Dakar, Rafal Sonik has set a double mission. “It isn’t only a story of ‘me doing the Dakar’”, he explains. “I also have a goal to make quads popular in Poland and even promote the discipline in Europe”. Rafal started riding quads in the 1990s, and then ten years ago, he decided to go one step further and start competitions. And results quickly came. The Pole who founded the Polish Quad Association – ATV Polska, is today a six-time enduro national champion. Rafal super-Sonik will be the first Polish quad rider on the Dakar. “Bikers Marek Dabrowski and Jacek Czachor who finished the eight Dakar rallies in which he took part, were the ones that pushed me”, explains Rafal. “On the race, I will follow their advice”. The Pole sets off on the Dakar with a lot of humility. “I am here mainly to learn as much as possible, especially from the best quad riders”, announces Rafal. “Then I would like to reach Buenos Aires but I don’t know, for instance how my body will adapt. So I will apply my strategy as the race goes on”. Rafal is cautious even though he believes that the navigation will be the crucial point of the rally. The rider put all the chances on his side by multiplying trips to the United States with friends, in California and in Arizona in order to get used to the dunes and the sandy tracks. Indeed, Rafal expects to witness difficulties. “A quad is heavier than a bike, tougher to manoeuvre”, he says. “At the same time, we can’t go through narrow passages so the navigation is similar to that in a car, except that we’re directly in contact with the environment”.

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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