“We take every stage in Dakar seriously”

Po Tian and Xuanyi Du had relatively modest ambitions when they turned up to their maiden Dakar a year ago, yet the Chinese duo ended up as the top all-rookie crew in the highly competitive car class. Po has been following motorsport for over 20 years. The 54-year-old used to watch stages of the Dakar in Africa and dream of taking part, although he never seriously thought it would actually happen. Yet after being inspired by Wei Han's record-breaking performance at Dakar 2020 -when he set a Chinese record by finishing 10th in the cars- Po decided to get in touch with the HanWei Motorsport team, and ended up entering Dakar 2022 with an SMG buggy. He and talented young co-driver Xuanyi even outdid the boss, coming 32nd as Wei settled for 37th following an early penalty. Po likes to point out that he's had a driving licence for nearly 40 years without having an accident, and that cautious approach clearly paid off in 2022. He insists that he and 24-year-old Xuanyi take every stage seriously, and they will be just as focused on getting through each day unscathed as they target a slight improvement on last year: a place in the top 30.

P.T.: “I was quite impressed by the excellently-planned organisation and thoughtful service of Dakar 2022. It was a memorable experience to have such an exciting adventure on the tracks, and to enjoy the rare and magnificent natural views of Saudi Arabia. That's also the reason I'm coming back again this year! Of course, I was also very happy to be the top rookie. I'd like to thank my co-driver Du for a great job in navigation, and my team HanWei Motorsport for their fine support. Du is a very good driver and an experienced co-driver, I trust him a lot. We did a good job last year. We take every stage in Dakar seriously, and we're hoping we can finish in the top 30 at Dakar 2023”