“A very tough race in the first year of a project”
CREW FACTS
C.S.
- Carlos Sainz has not lost any of his legendary competitive drive. The two-time world rally champion (1990 and 1992) marked an era in the discipline and is among the references of the Dakar Rally, in which he debuted in 2006 in Africa.
- His sporting career began far from the world of motorsport: he became the Spanish squash champion at 16 years of age.
- His attention to detail and perfection are two characteristics that have defined him since he started rallying in the 1980 Shalymar in a Renault 5 TS.
- This competitive spirit endeared him to a generation of fans with his two WRC titles and 26 victories. So much so that, in a vote conducted by the official World Cup website in 2020, fans worldwide voted him the best ever. The Madrid-born driver made history in 2024, with Audi becoming the first to win the Dakar with an electric-powered vehicle. His victory added to an unparalleled resume, with four Touareg trophies with four different manufacturers (2010 with Volkswagen, 2018 with Peugeot, 2020 with MINI). In 2025, he will try to do it with a fifth, Ford, with whom he has already won a stage in the most recent Morocco Rally.
L.C.
- Lucas Cruz never imagined that he would compete alongside one of his childhood idols, let alone contribute to no less than four Dakar triumphs by his side.
- But the truth is that the destiny of this qualified computer engineer and co-driver led him to enter rallying at the age of 20 when an acquaintance from his father's garage was left without a navigator for a local rally and asked him to join him.
- The opportunity of a lifetime came four years later, when he entered - ‘on the rebound’, as he confesses - in the programme for promising young drivers initiated by Carlos Sainz and Peugeot. He made his Dakar Rally debut in 2001 and co-drove with Nani Roma in two editions. But in 2009, he received a call from Sainz to join him at Volkswagen
- In their first Dakar together, they became the first Spani
AMBITION 2025
C.S.: “The victory in the last Dakar was historic, and I'm still overjoyed to have done it, but it's in the past, and now I'm concentrating on the next edition, where I'm looking forward to competing with a new brand and a new project. When I decided to go with Ford M-Sport, the presence of Malcolm Wilson was undoubtedly of great importance, as I have an excellent relationship with him. We worked together on two previous occasions (1996-1997 and 2000-2002). In the end, when I put things in perspective at this stage of my racing career, they either compensate me or they don't. I am in a highly motivated team: a Malcolm who has not changed anything, with great enthusiasm and desire for this project, and a Ford with great determination because this is one of his important projects, 100% factory.”
“Everyone is extremely motivated, although it is true that the Dakar is a demanding race and in the first year of a project, no matter how many tests you do, you always pay for the fact that the car doesn't have the kilometres and the experience that others who have already raced before have. It's difficult to say where everyone will be because we went to Morocco with the performance set-ups that will debut in 2025, and the others were on the old set-ups. But I'm confident that it will be more equal than ever. We saw that it will be pretty even between Toyota, Dacia, Mini, and us, and it should be a very entertaining Dakar. We will have to take it day by day, see where we are, what we are finding and how competitive we are.”
L.C.: “What we did last January was not impossible but difficult to achieve. It is something to be delighted about because it was a highly complex and innovative project. In addition, this is the fourth brand with which we have won the Dakar, which proves that Carlos' philosophy, perseverance and perseverance in our work pays off. We have embarked on a new challenge with Ford M-Sport, and their way of working has allowed us to cut development times. It's a very familiar project, with a lot of human resources and a great willingness to listen and to do things well. Setting a clear objective in the first year is difficult, but we will try to be at the front. The strategy will be fundamental because there are four brands on equal terms. The first week will be key with a 48-hour stage with a lot of rocks. Then, there will be five days when we won't have the bikes ahead of us, which will penalise us a lot when it comes to opening the stage.”