“I would drive a 72h Chrono!”
CREW FACTS
M.S.
- Martin Soltys will be doing his 7th Dakar in the trucks in 2025. The Czech driver was forced to miss the 2024 edition after a skiing accident, but returns to spearhead the Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing team in the upgraded Tatra Buggyra EVO3, which made its debut last year. The truck features the team's own Gyrtech 3EC engine, boasting a power output of 1150hp, and Martin was heavily involved in its two-year development.
- At Dakar 2024, Martin was replaced at the last minute by Dutch driver Pascal de Baar, who guided the brand-new EVO3 to 10th and collected invaluable data for its ongoing enhancement.
- Martin started out as a support driver for Martin Kolomy at Dakar 2018, but has gradually imposed himself as a leader in his own right. He has represented Tatra Buggyra at five of his six appearances, having joined Martin Macik's team at Dakar 2022. Every time he has finished the rally he has improved on his personal best result, going as high as 6th in 2023.
- The 51-year-old took a confidence-boosting victory at Baja Poland in August 2024, describing it as "pure joy".
V.M.
- Vlastimil Miksch works as a computer-aided designer (CAD) for the Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing team and will be making his competitive debut as a navigator at Dakar 2025. He helped to design the Tatra Buggyra EVO3 and says it would be a "dream come true" to bring it to the finish line.
- The 36-year-old Czech grew up just two kilometres away from a racetrack which hosted motocross and European championship autocross, so he's always been into motorsport. He says the track was "like a playground" growing up, and jokes that he and his friends "destroyed millions of bikes and motorbikes" there.
- Vlastimil started out with downhill bike racing, then took up motocross at 18 when he began earning a bit of money. Through his motocross contacts, he heard about Buggyra entering their first Dakar in 2014 and ended up getting a job with the team. He has been there ever since.
T.S.
- Tomas Sikola is a highly experienced mechanic who will be doing his 8th Dakar in 2025. The 38-year-old made his debut alongside Martin Soltys in 2018 and remained on his crew for the next three editions (2019-21).
- In 2022 he linked up with three-time quads winner Ignacio Casale, then helped Jaroslav Valtr finish 5th in 2023. He was the only member of the current crew to complete in 2024, finishing inside The top 10 with Pascal de Baar.
2025 AMBITIONS
M.S.: “Like every year, I was skiing at the end of 2023, and an irresponsible skier knocked me over. Unfortunately, the injuries were such that I couldn't participate in Dakar 2024. But now everything is fine and I'm 100% ready for Dakar 2025. Winning at Baja Poland earlier this year was pure joy. We were delighted with the new truck, the team and the result. The Tatra EVO3 is great; it's a huge leap over the Tatra Phoenix. We have great performance and it's more comfortable for the crew, so we can drive at full speed all the time and fight for the top positions. We're hoping to survive and enjoy the great rally that is the Dakar. I'll be doing the 48h Chrono for the first time and I'm really looking forward to it. I would definitely drive a 72h Chrono as well!”
V.M.: “I started out in motocross at 18, and a year or two later someone told me Buggyra were going to Dakar 2014. I thought, that can't be true, Buggyra only does circuit racing. So, I googled it and it turned out Buggyra were entering the Dakar for the first time that year. At the same time, they were advertising for new employees on their website, so I applied - and I've been here ever since! This will be my Dakar debut but I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I'm nervous but I'm also a fighter, so I'm looking forward to it. I want to do the best possible job in navigation. I don't think I'll realise it's actually happening until we're sitting on the start line and the clock is counting down! I still can't believe I have the chance to be a part of it. I want to squeeze as much out of myself as I can, so I can say I did my best. It would be enough for me to see the finish line. That would be a dream come true, in fact, because I designed the Tatra EVO3 so it would be special to finish the Dakar with it. But in Morocco we showed that we also have impressive speed, so if we end up in the top five it would be massive!”
T.S.: “Last year we met Pascal for the first time just before shakedown, so it was a real challenge! But he was great, and fast for his first time with a Tatra. At the same time, he was able to take care of the truck and complete all the tasks to test it at Dakar 2024. This will be my eighth time as an onboard mechanic and every year is important to me. It's the toughest race in the world and there's no better way to prepare for the Dakar than by doing it! Every year of experience is key to being even better the following year. Dakar 2024 was a big test run for the Tatra EVO3, and a lot of improvements were made over the year, to the cooling system and to make the whole truck lighter. So, we should see the EVO3 in all its glory at Dakar 2025! Every year I'm convinced we can get a good result, but it takes a bit of luck, which we've always lacked. We're also going with a new navigator, and even if he did very well at the Rallye du Maroc, this will still be his first Dakar. Crews that don't change often definitely have an advantage.”