“Nine participations… I had to do one more!”
معلومات عن الطاقم
J.S.:
- Jürgen Schröder already has nine Dakar participations under his belt, since making his debut as a navigator for legend Alfie Cox in the first South American edition in 2009. The 67-year-old German entrepreneur therefore knows what it takes to master the world’s toughest rally, having reached the finish line as a driver on two occasions, with his son Daniel in 2015 (37 th ) and his son Maximilian in 2018 (22 nd ).
- While Daniel has since become a driver, Jürgen hasn't appeared on the Dakar entry list since 2019. An injury prevented him from discovering the Saudi Arabian version of the rally three years ago, although he did visit his son at the bivouac in 2025. He can finally take part for the tenth time. Something that he aims to celebrate with a finisher’s medal.
- Frequently competing in the South African Cross Country Championship, Jürgen is used to ride with Stuart Gregory. The experienced biker will accompany him for his return, with no other ambition than to cross the finish line. They will be in a WCT Amarok prepared by their team PS Laser and the South African manufacturer, very similar to the one with which Daniel finished two stages in the top 10 last year.
S.G.
- Stuart Gregory’s Dakar career started when the event was still on South-Armerica soil, in 2019. That first experience in Lima sadly ended before he managed to make it to the finish. The South-African had to wait to be in Saudi Arabia to achieve his goal in 2020 (66th).
- The nut farmer, whose Instagram and Facebook page used to be ‘Nuts4Dakar’, then gave it a go in the Original by Motul class. Despite bearing an uncanny resemblance to George Clooney, the “mid-pack rider” struggled to find sponsorship and had to settle for this class. And that actually paid off: he managed to finished all three of his rallies in the toughest class until 2024.
- With age coming, the 47-year-old hadn’t planned to return to the Dakar, at least on two wheels. A call from Century Racing made him decide otherwise. Looking for an experienced navigator to help William Battershill reach the finish of his first rally, Stuart was the perfect choice. And he proved them right by successfully completing his mission.
- Jürgen Schröder has known Stuart since the time they were racing together in South Africa. It’s fair to say that the national championship races hold no secrets for either of them. It was only natural that they decided to team up, forming a crew that firmly believes experience is its main strength. They had already planned to compete together in the past, before Jürgen had to postpone his return. That will take place in 2026, marking Gregory’s first time in the T1+ class.
طموح
J.S.: “I’m back! I wanted to do the Dakar in Saudi Arabia three years ago, but my son took my place because I was injured. I decided to do my tenth Dakar because, you know, nine participations… I had to do one more! My son Daniel is also racing on his own, and I must say he’s fast. He had the right pace last year, and without a technical problem, I think he could have finished in the Top 10. As for me, I’m just going for fun. I know I can’t win, so my goal is to finish and stay out of trouble. In terms of speed, maybe I can fight for the Top 20. You know how it is: if you finish every day in the Top 30, then you end up in the top 20 because half of the field won’t finish. Stuart is a tough man, and I think he will be good as a navigator. I think we are prepared, hopefully the car will stay in one piece, and we won’t make any mistakes to cross the finish line. The Dakar is a race of 14 different races: each day, you have a new stage, and you have to finish them all.”
S.G.: “I’ve done five Dakar rallies in Original by Motul. They were tough and it was great. But with age comes a cage as people say. To be in a car in 2025 was a completely different experience, and the days were very different as well. It was a challenge as it was a two-wheel drive car, we got stuck and had a few late nights, but I gained more experience, and that’s cool that we made it to the finish. I enjoyed it. As bikers, it’s easier for us to read the terrain because we’re used to ride and navigate at the same time on the bike. The only thing is that you don’t control everything, but that’s something we have to learn. I know Jürgen from a long time, he’s very excited to do his tenth Dakar, and it will be my seventh, so together we have seventeen years of Dakar. The plan is to add another medal to the collection, hopefully being competitive, but the main goal is to drive safely, without damaging the vehicle, and to manage the car in order to finish.”
