“Winning would be the crowning of an endless journey”
CREW FACTS
L.T.
- Fate naturally led Lorenzo Traglio to the Dakar, following the tracks laid by his father Maurizio, who prepared vehicles in the 1980s, participated himself and went on to take over the iconic team Tecnosport.
- Lorenzo’s first participation, in 2022, happened “a bit by chance”, as he says - his father Maurizio tested positive for Covid at the last moment and the son took over.
- With much more time to prepare for the Dakar Classic 2024, Lorenzo Traglio drove his Nissan Pathfinder to the 2nd place of the overall standings. Can he put the Traglio name on top of the standings?
R.B.
- Rudy Briani is a special figure in the world of Dakar, one whose experience and honesty attracts many contenders who turn to him to know how to prepare for such an adventure.
- Briani’s first participation was in 2001, with Riccardo Garosci, who also accompanied him when he returned to the Dakar, in 2023. He was a navigator with the likes of Bruno Saby and Miki Biaison too. “The Dakar has brought me extreme emotions”, he reflects.
- He is now a staple of Tecnosport, historically associated with Nissan and now run by Maurizio Traglio, father of Lorenzo and a longtime friend of Rudy Briani’s. And this association is on the path to success…
AMBITIONS 2025
L.T.: “We’re definitely going to try to put our best foot forward this year, to bring the result home. So, we are very confident on the one hand, and hopeful as well. I think this Dakar will be very competitive, within our team, with other clients who also return to improve their performance, and also with other contenders: Carlos Santaolalla, the Moma crew with Porches and certainly others who will get in the mix.
I had known Rudy for a long time within the team but I had never raced with him. He gave me a lot of peace of mind and confidence with his experience and professionalism. I rely on him a lot, first to enjoy my experience, and then to get a result. I felt like last year’s race was more challenging and I liked it a lot. It seemed much closer to what I was told about the old times in the Dakar when I was a kid.
My name is quite known in the world of Dakar because of my father and to ride in his footsteps is a great thrill and an honor. Winning would be the crowning of an endless journey.”
R.B.: “It’s always hard to say what we can do, because in the Dakar there are thousands of things you can’t factor in beforehand. But given how it went last year… Starting the last day only 1 point down, and eventually losing by nine points, it made us realize we didn’t lose it on that last stage, we could have put ourself in a safe place if we had done better the days before. So, we want to start strong and optimize things day by day. It won’t be easy, but we start with the idea of doing better than last year. I’m thinking everyday about how to do well, be precise and efficient.
Last year, we knew each other but we got straight in the car, it was our first time together. So, at the beginning, we kind of had to get to know each other and we developed a very close-knit relationship. And it’s essential when you do this for almost twenty days. The Dakar is a race, but when I’m in the car I want to win but it’s also an adventure that stays in your blood. Being altogether in this journey it creates a special relationship even with your opponents. And that’s the point. Basically, Dakar is about human relationships first of all.”
