“It’s an endurance race, not a sprint”
Crew facts
P.G.
- Pedro Gonçalves has always been drawn to endurance sports, particularly cycling and long-distance running, alongside high-adrenaline disciplines such as snowboarding and kitesurfing. It was this blend of endurance and adrenaline that led him to rally-raid.
- What he isn’t is one of those guys who’s been a petrolhead all their lives. In fact, he has only been racing for a couple of years.
- He started his career as a software engineer and is now a Tech Entrepreneur and Investor, employing about 500 people across several companies. No surprise then that Pedro learnt to drive racing cars in simulators.
- 2025 was Pedro and Hugo’s rookie Dakar and it was not an easy debut. A broken clutch on Stage 6 dropped them into the Dakar Experience category, and the same issue struck again on Stage 11, leaving them out of the race.
- Their run of bad luck continued in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge where they crashed out of stage 2.
- They quickly turned the tide thereafter, delivering highly credible results at Rally Raid Portugal and the Rallye du Maroc, finishing 6th and 5th respectively. They now head into their second Dakar wiser and far better prepared.
H.M.
- Hugo Magalhaes is at the other end of the spectrum to his friend Pedro Gonçalves. He’s been a professional co-driver in stage rallies, including WRC, for the last 18 years.
- Before that he was a professional footballer, and sport has always played a big part of his life. That’s how he met Pedro. They live in the same town and are in the same cycling group.
- Even before Pedro got in touch, Hugo had already decided it was time for a change and had begun learning the “black art” of rally-raid roadbook navigation. He believes that in rally raid the navigator plays a more critical role than in stage rallies, even if stage rallies feel more intense. That said, he admits rally raid can be just as intimidating, after all, you never know what’s waiting on the other side of a dune.
- Although the 2025 Dakar did not go according to plan, the experience proved invaluable. Over the two weeks of competition and the subsequent rallies they contested together in 2025, they learned a great deal and now feel far better prepared heading into the 2026 Dakar.
Ambition
P.G.: “We went into our first Dakar not really knowing what to expect and, in hindsight, we simply weren’t ready. The fact that we had critical technical problems with the car certainly didn’t help. Since then, we’ve changed teams and are now competing in a Taurus T3 Max with the support of the BBR team. We’ve also gained a lot of experience through competition in 2025, in events such as Rally Raid Portugal, the Rallye du Maroc, Carta Rally and Baja Morocco. Altogether, we’ve covered more than 10,000 kilometres of racing. That mileage has made a huge difference and means we’re far better prepared for the 2026 Dakar. The most important lesson we learned was to take it easy. The Dakar is so long that there’s no need to push beyond the limits, it’s an endurance race, not a sprint. And we’ve also made major improvements in navigation, Hugo has dedicated himself fully to this aspect, and his progress has been remarkable. With all of that in place, and a bit of luck on our side, a Top 10 finish at the 2026 Dakar is no longer an unrealistic goal.”
H.M.: “The first week of the 2025 Dakar was extremely demanding. The second week became a little easier as I grew more comfortable with the navigation, and it’s clear that we are now far better prepared for the 2026 edition. The most important lesson I learned during the 2025 season was to trust my instincts. If you believe you’re on the right line while everyone else is heading in a different direction, you have to stick to your guns, it’s all about confidence. At the Rallye du Maroc in October, everything really came together for us, which gave us a big boost in confidence. Pedro believes a Top 10 finish is realistic, but I think we could aim even higher. We’re not chasing stage wins, but by staying consistent and measured, I believe we can achieve a very strong overall result.”
