“Madmen don't finish”

Ignacio Casale never ceases to amaze. The Chilean quad champion in 2014, 2018 and 2020 announced last November that he will participate in the 2021 Dakar on board an official Tatra Buggyra Racing truck of Czech origin. For the driver from Santiago, it won't be his first time aboard one of the giants of the road. He made his Dakar debut in 2010 as co-driver of a truck, finishing in 26th place. In 2011, Ignacio completed his only Dakar on a motorbike in 40th place. That's when he began his successful period on quads, which resulted in three Dakar victories, two runner-up finishes, a fourth place and two retirements. For the 2019 Dakar, Ignacio abandoned his quad in favour of an SSV alongside Américo Aliaga. Although the experience ended in prematurely, Ignacio admitted that he enjoyed it so much that he wouldn't hesitate for a second to try his luck again. In 2020, Yamaha offered him a return to quads and so he rode into the Saudi dunes, finding his passion intact and triumphing resoundingly with 4 stage victories. Ignacio has been in discussions with the Tatra team since 2019 and the news of his move to the truck category surprised not only his rivals in the quad category, but also Álvaro León himself who will be his co-driver on the Dakar. Álvaro has seven Dakar rallies to his credit, six in cars and one in the SSV category, in which he won as Francisco "Chaleco" López’s co-driver in 2019. Ignacio and his co-driver met their new team in Prague and tested for 10 days the truck with which they will aim for an excellent result. The third man in the cab will be Czech mechanic, David Hoffmann. Following a satisfying testing programme, Casale is aiming for a place among the top ten in the category.

I.C.: "When I sang the Chilean anthem in Saudi Arabia, it was the most moving moment of my career. An unforgettable moment. It was a very special Dakar for me because it was the first one outside South America. I trained a lot because I wanted to win and we had a good race. It was a very fast race. People might think it's not the best who can win but the craziest. But I am a professional and I know that madmen don't finish. You have to manage crisis situations with a lot of pressure and keep a cool head. I race every day using my head because what works is to finish the race.
I am living a dream come true. It took me 12 years to join an official international team, so the joy I feel is something I find hard to put into words. It's a huge challenge, but I'm very focused on getting used to the vehicle in the best possible way and having a good race so that I can continue to grow as an athlete and set new milestones both in my career and on the Dakar itself. »

A.L.: "Ignacio's decision was also a surprise for me. He hadn't done anything during the year and he called me to join the team. I immediately said yes. The truth is that I have high expectations. We did ten days of testing in the Czech Republic in November. We discovered a new country, a new team and the communication with the people at Tatra was excellent. Ignacio is very happy to be part of an official team. He knows what it means.
We felt very comfortable in the cab of the truck. Everything is a bit different as the viewpoint is much higher. You can see a hole, a fork in the road, the edge of a dune very well, but at the same time you don't have to overestimate these obstacles. Ignacio is a very good driver and has a lot of experience. Our goal is to be in the top 10 in the category.”