“Rally-raid is still my world, my life”

Krzysztof Hołowczyc wasn't done with the Dakar yet! The Pole returns nine years after his last participation, which finished on the podium in the general classification (3rd). The father of three daughters had to put the Dakar on hold for health reasons. But at 61, he still knows how to push hard on the loud pedal, as demonstrated by his recent FIA European Cross-Country Cup title. His 11th Dakar is also his first in Saudi Arabia, after having experienced the African dunes from 2005 to 2007 and then the South American tracks from 2009 to 2015. Expectations are high for Krzysztof, who has frequently challenged the Dakar's top drivers on various Bajas since 2021. Awarded Legend status, he will have newcomer Lukasz Kurzeja to his right. Recognised as one of the best Polish co-drivers in history, it took him a long time to decide to do the Dakar. Accustomed to the WRC, he admits that at first, he thought the rally was "slow" before taking part in the Bajas... and realising that rally-raid is very fast too!

K.H.: “It's good to be back after a few years of watching cars climb dunes on television! Rally-raid is still my world, my life. I've won a few races since I last participated, notably the Baja Poland, so I'm still competitive. I finished third in the 2015 Dakar, but you know how it is: the best step on the podium is always the highest! I'm a competitor, and my ambition is to be at the top, but I also understand that we don't necessarily have the means or the experience here. We're going to do our best with Lukasz. The Dakar is new to him, but we've won many races together. He's a good co-driver and navigator. Recently, he helped us win the Baja Troia Türkiye because he was the only one to find the right route! He's strong and a Dakar kind of guy, and I believe in us.”

L.K.: “This is my first Dakar, but I started racing with Krzysztof more than 20 years ago in the WRC. At first, I didn't want to do a rally raid. I said it was for old people, and that it was too slow. In 2015, he asked me to try the Baja Poland. We won it, and I said: 'OK, it's not that easy, and it's fast', so we started doing rallies. There were stages on the 2021 Baja Aragón where we were faster than Loeb and Al Attiyah. That's when I started thinking about doing the Dakar, even though, as a motorsport fan, I've always watched it. When you race in cross-country, you only have one dream: to do the Dakar, the biggest event! I did some navigation training on the Rallye du Maroc, which went well. Our car may not be as competitive as others, but our objective will be to be intelligent, not to push the limit and avoid mechanical problems.”