“I believe that other competitors will respect us”
CREW FACTS
T.V.
- Tomas Vratny is preparing for his eighth Dakar in the trucks in 2025. The 49-year-old Czech entrepreneur took his best result to date on his last appearance in 2023, finishing ninth overall.
- Inspired by Czech great Karel Loprais, Tomas says he was "always fascinated by rally racing and expeditions around the world with Tatra trucks". He first got involved in rally-raid when he joined Karel's nephew Ales Loprais at the Silk Way Rally 2011. He was so captivated by the sport that he set up his own team, Fesh Fesh, and entered his maiden Dakar in 2012.
- Tomas is also a regular at the Rallye du Maroc, Baja Aragon and Baja Poland (where he came third in 2024). In 2023, he finished second overall behind Dakar winner Janus van Kasteren in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
- For Dakar 2025, Tomas will be driving a new Tatra FF7 built in the Fesh Fesh workshops. It boasts a 13-litre Volvo D13 engine and weighs in at under nine tonnes. He is bringing the same crew from 2022 and 2023, consisting of Polish navigator Bartlomiej Boba and Czech mechanic Jaromir Martinec.
B.B.
- Bartlomiej Boba has been doing rallies for 27 years and will be taking part in his fifth Dakar as a competitor in 2025. He made his debut as a truck navigator for Grzegorz Baran in 2013, before switching to a car (Mitsubishi Pajero) with Grzegorz Czarnecki in 2014. Between 2016 and 2020 he was the team manager and press officer for quad supremo Rafal Sonik, the first Pole to win the Dakar in 2015. And since 2022, he has been working as a navigator for Tomas Vratny and helped him finish second in the W2RC in 2023.
- Bartlomiej "fell in love" with rally as a teenager and did his first competition in 1997, in the Polish national championship. He spent years competing in traditional rally -including the ERC and WRC- before discovering rally-raid. It was also through motorsport that he met his wife, so no wonder he loves it!
- The 48-year-old Pole has worked with a host of drivers throughout his career, including Martin Kaczmarski, Miroslav Zapletal and Benediktas Vanagas. During the 2024 season, he helped Tomas finish on the overall podium at Baja Poland.
JM
- Jaromir Martinec is a hugely experienced mechanic who has been competing in the Dakar since 2001. The 51-year-old is gearing up for his 16th appearance, having come as high as second overall with Tomas Tomecek and Andre de Azevedo in 2003. He also helped Albert Llovera become the first paraplegic to complete the Dakar as a racing truck driver in 2016.
- Jaromir works as the editor-in-chief of Czech motorsport magazine Auto Expert. His passion goes back to his childhood, when he would ask his father to wake him up to watch replays of F1 races late at night. Later - "like every other boy in the Czech Republic" - he was amazed by the Dakar performances of Karel Loprais: "He and the other guys were real heroes for us".
- Jaromir linked up with Tomas Vratny at Dakar 2022, although they were forced to abandon after rolling their Ford Cargo. In 2023 they switched to a Tatra Jamal, finishing inside the top 10 at the Dakar and landing second place overall in the W2RC.
2025 AMBITIONS
T.V.: “I had some health problems towards the end of 2023 and had to undergo two surgeries. Because of the recovery process, I wasn't able to participate in Dakar 2024. Of course, I want to continue racing, and it means I'm even more excited for the January start with our new truck. We focused a lot on weight distribution, accessibility of components for servicing, reducing the overall weight, and of course optimising the engine and transmission. I believe we'll be very fast and that other competitors will respect us. I'm convinced the truck will perform well, but our goal at Dakar 2025 isn't necessarily to achieve a top placement. We need to finish the rally and gather as much data as possible about how the new truck behaves under the toughest conditions. A real success, in my eyes, would be finishing in the Top 10 overall. We came ninth in 2023 and it was a fantastic achievement. That year I also greatly valued our title of vice-champion in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.”
B.B.: “My whole life revolves around rallies. I started my journey with road rallies, but I now specialize in cross-country racing. I prefer it, because as a co-driver or navigator you have a bigger impact on the overall result. Cross-country races are much more enjoyable for me because of the beautiful countryside and terrain. The last few years have improved me as a navigator. I have better focus and I've learned how to manage my energy over the two weeks of Dakar. I've also learned a lot of Czech words and become more aware of their culture. For Dakar 2025, I'm expecting fierce competition. The route will be tough, and the conditions and terrain will put us and our truck in difficult situations. We'll be forced to limit our time losses and pick the best and fastest route. I hope we succeed! The 48h Chrono will be new for us because our crew didn't participate last year. I'm interested in experiencing it for the first time, and I think the stress of it will keep us motivated. I'm curious to see what influence it has on the final result. I'm expecting 2025 to be more pleasant than previous editions, because we just got a wonderful new truck filled with new technology, which will help us conquer the Dakar. I'm expecting great teamwork and I'm confident we'll finish in the Top 10.”
J.M.: “What keeps bringing me back to the Dakar? Firstly, it's the great people who are part of it. Not just in our team, but the whole Dakar family. And of course, the adventure of finding my own physical and psychological limits. My general attitude in life is that if I do something, I do it in the best possible way. The Dakar is the toughest rally in the world and I like this challenge. I'm happy and proud to be part of something exceptional. I have several standout memories. Finishing second in 2003, and the moment when the great Jan de Rooy came to shake my hand to congratulate us. Finishing two times with Albert Llovera, and the moment when Vladimir Chagin came to admire our achievement. And in general, whenever we sorted out some difficult moments and I could see how well we worked as a team. I don't know if I'm a good race mechanic, but I think a key feature of the job is to be able to stay calm in any situation, and to be able to work under stress. It's also very important to be a team player, not an individualist.”
