“It's a dream to start this race with Eryk and Marek”

In his third Dakar, Michal Goczal is thrilled to be lining up as one of three entrants from his motorsport-mad family. The 31-year-old has raced the last two editions alongside older brother Marek, whose 18-year-old son Eryk will be joining the fray in 2023. Having already come fourth and fifth in the SSVs, Michal is openly targeting the top three, with the dream scenario getting all three Goczal-driven cars onto the podium. Michal inherited a love of racing from his older brothers, who bought him his first quad when he was just five years old. He is 16 years younger than Marek, but jumped at the chance to join him on their national cross-country circuit a few years ago. After winning the Polish Cup and the Polish Championship in successive seasons, he showed he had what it takes at the Dakar with fourth on his debut. Michal will once again team up with talented co-driver Szymon Gospodarczyk, who has had a busy season in traditional rally with Mikolaj Marczyk; they took part in six rounds of the WRC and won the Polish round of the ERC. A busy year of work meant that Michal couldn't do much racing in 2022, but he still heads to Saudi Arabia as one of the top contenders in the T4s.

M.G.: “Dakar 2022 was really good for me, for sure. Throughout the rally, I was fighting at the top of my category. I came to Saudi Arabia to be on the podium, that was my ambition of course, but sometimes things don't go the way you want. I've still finished both of my Dakars in the top five, which I think is a reason to be proud. This year I had a lot of work in my companies, so I couldn't take part in every rally, but next year I hope I can organise my time and work to be at every round of the W2RC. We're always making changes to improve the car. This year, for example, we'll have a completely new car from South Racing, with new suspension and a new roll cage. I've also bought new shoes and a new helmet. I want to be on the podium. Maybe if I'm lucky enough I'll be able to win the rally, but there are too many things that you can't predict. In 2023, my nephew Eryk will also participate in the Dakar, so now the dream is to take all three places on the podium with him and my brother Marek. Then it doesn't matter to me who is in each place! It's a dream to start this race with Eryk and Marek. We want to write a new chapter in Dakar history. Eryk will also be the youngest ever car driver at the Dakar. Of course, we will be stronger in three cars. I hope that sometime in the future, our dreams come true.”