Profile of MARCELO MEDEIROS - TAGUATUR RACING TEAM

N°177 Bike TAGUATUR RACING TEAM

TONI VINGUT

SAMUEL DESBUISSON

MARCELO MEDEIROS

(bra) 1.8m / 79kg

Hobbies

Football / karting

“I am sure I have a chance at winning”

Just 100kms away from his hometown of Sao Luis, the area of Maranhao hosts the most splendid dunes and sand beaches the world has to offer. A perfect terrain for Marcelo Medeiros to ride his quad. That’s where it all started. And the Brazilian never fails to mention his home area. Other than the fact that he is supported by his region, he also wishes to promote it. And that’s how the Dakar came into play. The successful businessman had one dream: to do the rally one day. After winning the Dos Sertoes Rally twice, his turn came to witness the toughest of all cross-country rallies. A year after André Suguita became the first ever Brazilian to finish the Dakar on a quad, it was Medeiros’ turn to try to impress the world. It took the Brazilian three editions to eventually cross the finish line and he did so in style when he reached Cordoba in fourth spot back in 2018. After a three-year absence, Medeiros returned with the simple desire to discover Saudi Arabia. His two experiences in the Middle-East have been extremely positive ones with two Top 10 finishes (6th in 2022 and 9th in 2023) and a total of 7 stage wins. Yet Medeiros who competed in this year’s Desafio Ruta 40 to prepare for the Dakar, continues to have overall success in the back of his mind. He knows he can do it on his Yamaha Raptor and experience could certainly pay off in 2024.

“Since I was a boy when I started racing in kart at the age of eleven, and then on quads, I followed the Dakar Rally and dreamt of one day being in that race as well. And that finally happened, it was a dream come true. I hope that my participation in the Dakar, regardless of the results, serves above all to show to the state governments and companies of our country that Brazilian athletes can be as good as any other, regardless of their sport or category. We just need opportunities.
For me the Dakar represents a challenge, a possibility to represent my country and my region, but also a sense of overcoming. The last Dakar was extremely difficult. I suffered one small crash but managed to recover from it and I then went on to win four stages which made me happy. This year, I trained intensely for the Dakar and competed in the Desafio Ruta 40, finishing third. My ambition is to win! I'm sure I have a chance at that. When I look back I can say that all the editions were fantastic with very beautiful places and very difficult and long stages.”

Vehicle

TAGUATUR RACING TEAM

YAMAHA RAPTOR 700
TAGUATUR RACING TEAM

Mark YAMAHA
Model RAPTOR 700
Performance tuner Taguatur Racing Team
Assistance Taguatur Racing Team
Class Quad

Ranking 2024

All news of M. Medeiros

Medeiros still in the lead

Marcelo Medeiros, third overall behind Andújar and Giroud and boasting a hat-trick of stage wins in this Dakar, was the speediest rider at km 90. The Brazilian has a margin of 43 seconds over Juraj Varga, 1′05″ over Manuel Andújar and 2′38″ over Alexandre Giroud.

After the Empty Quarter

After six stages and a total of eight days of racing, including the prologue in AlUla, the 46th edition of the Dakar has been a roller-coaster of breakthrough performances, vindications, debacles, plot twists, comebacks and surprises on the tracks and dunes of Saudi Arabia. The culmination of the first week, the brand-new 48H Chrono concept, scattered drivers and co-drivers...

Dakar 2024 - Stage 5 | All the results

RALLY GP | "QUINTY" IN SEVENTH HEAVEN

Pablo Quintanilla crossed the finish line with the fastest time and claimed his seventh Dakar stage win. Coming the day after the eighth triumph of his teammate Nacho Cornejo, this is the second Chilean victory in a row. Cornejo also took stage 2, bringing the Chileans' tally this year to three.

QUAD | THREE-PEAT...

Medeiros loses time again

After 310 km, Alexandre Giroud again has the best time, with a lead of 26’’ over Manuel Andújar, who is still in the battle for victory. Juraj Varga is more than 6 minutes behind the stage leader. Marcelo Medeiros has been unable to make up the time lost and the Brazilian now trails the Frenchman by almost 21’. For the moment, the day is looking good...

Giroud is out to score

Double title holder Alexandre Giroud, who was discrete on the first two stages, has decided to hit the back of the net today! Like his namesake Olivier, who is the French national football team’s record holder for goals scored, today Alexandre is the man of the match, as he has dominated the intermediate times since this morning. However, Lionel Messi’s countryman...

Medeiros starts

Marcelo Medeiros, the winner of the first two stages, has set off towards Al Salamiya. The Brazilian, who leads the general rankings by 6’52’’ over Juraj Varga, is aiming for three in a row. The double title holder Alexandre Giroud is fourth to start today. The Frenchman trails Medeiros by more than 35’ and has virtually no more room for error.

...

"Peter" hits the big five-oooooooooh!

FOCUS

The road to Al Duwadimi, which contained the first dune fields of this edition, set the riders and crews on a course to the geographical heart of Saudi Arabia. The dunes were not tough or numerous enough to shake up the standings; instead, the entrants had to put their navigational flair to good use to get out of one maze after another, in addition to marshalling...

Medeiros takes the quad special

Marcelo Medeiros crossed the finish line with the fastest time and got a second back-to-back win. He now has a total of 10 Dakar stage victories, rising to joint fourth (with Alexandre Giroud and Alejandro Patronelli) in the all-time ranking of the quad race.

Get exclusive information