"The Bajas title is a confidence boost"
Crew facts
JCY:
- Argentinian driver Juan Cruz Yacopini has just won the Ultimate category of the FIA Cross-Country Rallies World Cup, in a season in which he was very busy, also competing in the W2RC championship, where he finished 10th.
- The Mendoza native, born into a motorsport family, competed in 2021 and 2022 with his father, Alejandro, as his navigator, who had previously competed as a driver in nine Dakar rallies.
- Juan Cruz began competing in the Argentine Rally Raid Championship CaNav in 2018 and won the T1.1 category in 2019. Together with his father, he won the SARR 2020, 2021, and 2022 editions in the T1 Cars category.
- In Morocco in 2022, Dani Oliveras Carreras became his navigator, and together they finished seventh in the car category at the following Dakar Rally. 2023 was a great season in terms of results and pace. The podium in the Ultimate category in the W2RC was the reward for their performance and consistency.
- In the last Dakar Rally, Juan Cruz finished seventh in the Ultimate category, matching his best result from 2023. After the Rally of Portugal, the Mendoza native decided to leave Overdrive to join the South African team SVR, where he says he feels at home.
- Juan Cruz notes that he is part of a generational change, evidenced by Lucas Moraes' title, but acknowledges that he continues to learn from the speed and experience of the old-school idols.
DOC:
- The Spaniard will compete in his 12th Dakar Rally, having competed in five on a motorbike, five in cars, and one in an SSV, alongside drivers of the calibre of Nani Roma, Gerard Farrès, and Orly Terranova. His best result came with Farrès: second place in the SSV category in 2019.
- He began his career in 2003 in trial, in which he was successively Spanish Champion, European Champion, and World Champion. In 2013, he ventured into rallying, participating in the Baja Aragón and other events in the Spanish rally raid championship.
- After competing in several events, including the Merzouga Rally and the Pan-Africa Rally in 2017, with good results, in 2019, he finished 2nd in the Baja Portalegre, navigating for Nani Roma, and 8th in Abu Dhabi alongside Cyril Despres.
- In 2022, his passion for motorsport led him to compete in several rounds of the Catalan Rally Championship, and at the end of that year, Juan Cruz Yacopini invited him to join him in W2RC.
- 2023 was an excellent year for the duo, taking third place in the world championship in the Ultimate category with Overdrive's Toyota Hilux.
- After the 2024 W2RC season, in which they failed to achieve good results due to some misfortunes, 2025 paid off with seventh place in the Dakar and the Ultimate category title in the FIA Cross-Country Bajas World Cup.
- Dani considers the switch to the South African SVR team to be 'very positive'. The improvements to the Toyota have already been tested in Morocco and in the last two Bajas, giving them confidence that they can exceed their best result.
Ambition
J.C.Y.: "The 2025 Dakar was really tough and very long. I thought we wouldn't finish. The first week was key, and we showed great pace and consistency. We were strong in the most challenging stages – Crono 48 and the marathon – and came away with some excellent conclusions.
As for the season, Abu Dhabi is a round that suits me well, but this year the car was very soft at the rear, and we couldn't find the pace. South Africa was a totally new event. It was positive because we got to know the terrain for future editions. Portugal was a super tricky event, a rally-style race, a discipline in which I am getting better every day. I had a broken radiator in one stage, and in another, I overdid it on a corner, and we lost 25 minutes.
The Bajas season was a dream come true for me. We finished in the Top 5 every time and won the title with one round to go.
We evolved and grew, showing good pace in Qatar. The Bajas title is a huge confidence boost. It shows us that we can fight with the best and perform well.
My ambition for the Dakar? The Dakar has gone from being about consistency, where you had to avoid problems, to a race that is defined by minimal differences. You have to be precise in your navigation and be fast. There is no room for error, as a puncture can cost you everything. We are one of the few crews that compete in so many races throughout the year. That gives us an advantage when it comes to the Dakar. I don't like to talk about results. We are going to try our best, follow a strategy, and fight from the start. That is the goal for this Dakar.
D.O.C.:"We had an excellent Dakar in 2025, because in the first few days, we finished third in two stages. Halfway through the rally, we wanted to keep up the pace, but perhaps starting so far ahead left us behind in the classification, as the tracks weren't well marked. We made progress in the dunes and finished seventh, which we also did in 2023. In any case, we have made a lot of progress, because we were closer to the leaders.
The move to the SVR team is positive for our motivation and the car's development. They have made suspension modifications to the Toyota we tested in Morocco, and the car is performing exceptionally well. A final test in Dubai allowed us to get the Toyota ready for the Dakar.
Ambition? The ambition is always to improve on that P7 and fight for the top spots. We are sure that we are getting better and better, getting closer and closer to the top level. And by 2026, we want to win the Bajas title again. We are really motivated."
