D-2: a camp full of ambitions

December 29 ^th 2022 - 09:34 [GMT + 3]

Two days before the prologue of the 45th edition of the Dakar, the 4th in Saudi Arabia, the riders, drivers and crews registered have come together in an unprecedented setting: the Sea Camp, set up on the shores of the Red Sea, where scrutineering is taking place, immediately plunging the competitors into the rally atmosphere.
On presenting their vehicles for the checks, the favourites in the car category allowed doubt to linger about each other’s chances, with the vehicles now subject to equivalence of technology regulations. Will the electrically powered Audis driven by Peterhansel, Sainz and Ekström be able to take the battle to the Toyota T1+ cars of Al Attiyah, Al Rajhi and De Viliers?
The T4 category is the class in which the Dakar is welcoming its youngest competitor. Eryk Goczał, at the tender age of 18 years, could even be capable of doing battle in the upper reaches of the rankings, if his father and uncle, regular finishers in respectable places on the event, are to be believed.

A SEA CAMP FOR ADVENTURERS
A village unidentified by existing topographic surveys has emerged on the banks of the Red Sea. Its population of approximately 3,000 inhabitants is made up of lovers of wide-open spaces, discoveries and engines. Assembled with the agility and efficiency that are synonymous with the Dakar, the Sea Camp precisely matches the temperament of its riders, drivers and crews, with the layout favouring areas for friendly get-togethers and relaxation as well as the final pre-race preparations. This XXL bivouac has immediately been a hit with all the competitors, starting with the three times winner of the event Carlos Sainz, who was delighted to discover an almost holiday-like ambiance before getting stuck into the action: “I don’t miss the hotels, I’m very comfortable in my motorhome. It’s good that we don’t have to be on the move too much, that everything is within touching distance and that we are already in the atmosphere of the rally”. His future rival Nasser Al Attiyah, a globetrotter and collector of victories throughout the year, even allowed himself a mini-road trip to the venue as foretaste of his stay at the Sea Camp, always in the same relaxed state that he adopts as soon as he gets out of his car. “I set off from Doha ten days ago, just after the football world cup final and I drove taking my time, small step by small step”. It is no doubt the lull before the storm…

AUDI READY FOR A FESTIVAL?
Between a game of volleyball and a remote-controlled 4x4 race on a mini-circuit set up in the main square of the Sea Camp, the conversations of motorsports enthusiasts regularly concern predictions for victory in the car category. Following promising debuts by the Audis last January, there is a massive swell of favourable opinions for their chances of the title. One of the main people concerned, namely Stéphane Peterhansel, is not scared of displaying the loftiest of ambitions but nonetheless rejects the label of major favourite: “It’s our second year and we’ve taken care to revise all the things that caused problems last year. I think we will be in the reckoning, but to actually win the rally will be tough”. Alongside Mister Dakar and his 14 titles (including 8 in a car), the German brand will also be counting on Carlos Sainz to drive one of its RS Q e-tron E2 machines to success. The Spanish champion is taking this responsibility seriously, while waiting to see what the reality on the ground dictates: “You never know what will happen on the Dakar. The one sure thing is that we are better prepared than last year and we will see just how competitive the car is in the first few days. We have carried out tests with the new power regulations on the Rallye du Maroc, but now we have to see what our rivals have got under the bonnet”. El Matador raised the issue of the FIA regulation on equivalence of technology, but the effects will only really be observed after several stages.

TOYOTA FIRST UP
It was the Toyota clan who were first up as the proceedings for the 45th edition of the Dakar kicked off, with the Hiluxes having finished 1st, 3rd and 5th in Jeddah last time out, between the hands of Al Attiyah, Al Rajhi and De Villiers. This three-pronged finish heralds a cautious strategy for the start of the race. For Nasser Al Attiyah, “It’s always a bit strange to lose power on your car, but what is important is that it is fair. Winning the Dakar in 2022 and the W2RC has given us greater confidence for this Dakar. We need to ensure a good result for the prologue to make sure that we start in a good position on the first stage. I think that stages 2 and 3 will be important because it is easy to make a navigation mistake. You just need to look at the previous Dakar when it happened on the very first day. We need to manage the first few days intelligently to make sure that we are able to attack afterwards if necessary”. Giniel de Villiers, who will be taking part for the 20th time (with no less than 19 finishes in the top 10!), is singing from the same hymn sheet: “The new rules mean we lose some power and we’re not sure exactly where we will be at. We’ll have a better idea after the first few days. I’m confident that we have a good car and that we are going to be able to battle with the best”. While technical equality is on all the lips of the Toyota drivers, Yazeed Al Rajhi is already thinking of complete equality towards the end of the race, including for the race’s local competitor: “The Empty Quarter will be a discovery for me and for everyone else. As its name suggests, it’s an empty part of the country where nobody knows what will happen. There will be plenty of big dunes, but the dunes are like the sea, they’re nobody’s friend…”.

ERYK MAKES IT ANOTHER GOCZAŁ
So, it was not a bluff: for the last few years, brothers Marek et Michał Goczał have been announcing the forthcoming arrival of young Eryk to take starter’s orders for the Dakar. Whilst his dad and uncle have picked up stage victories (8 specials for the brothers in 2022 in the T4 category), Marek’s son has been patiently waiting his turn. Today, the most erudite of Dakar historians have not found a trace of a younger driver on the Dakar, with the blond-haired lad from Krakow having celebrated his 18th birthday less than two months ago. However, he is a young man in a rush and boasts maturity that contrasts with his tender age: “With my father and my uncle, I’ve always heard talk about the Dakar, I dreamed about it with them. When I was four years old, I had a piggy bank in which I would put all my coins because I’d already understood that it cost a lot to participate. Now, I’ve done everything I can to prepare for this moment as conscientiously as possible. I was already on the rally the last two years, but just to observe everything, so that I don’t have any nasty surprises this time”. In addition to his motivation, the young man also boasts serious driving skills which have already allowed him to win the Polish national drift championship at the age of 15 years, lending credence to the family's plan to see the three Goczałs on the final podium. It is a far from crazy idea, according to Michał: “We don’t know how it’s possible, but he’s extremely skilful, we’ve even started to say that he has fuel running through his veins. What’s more, on his first race off-road two weeks ago, at the Dubai Baja, we finished in the first three places of our category, with Eryk in front!” Marek Goczał, his father is dreaming of an entirely red and white podium on the Dakar: “I’ve always said that the day that happens, I’ll bring my career to an end!”

A LAST-MINUTE SURPRISE FOR KUBA
Surprise, surprise! Sven Quandt, in charge of the Audi programme, has developed the third generation of “his” Mini on the sly. Sebastian Halpern and Jakub Przygoński are still flying the flag for X-raid Mini JCW but they will be trying out a T1+ version shipped out at the last minute by plane. The Polish driver, 6th on the last Dakar, will be taking part in the queen category: “I’m proud to be the driver of this prototype. We have worked a lot with X-raid. The project started five or sixth months beforehand, and we carried out tests only several weeks ago before the car arrived by plane. On the last Dakar, it was very difficult with a buggy to feature among the leading cars. Things are likely to change this year with the new rules on equivalence of technology, but the 4x4 is easier to drive over the dunes and on bumpy terrain. I’m confident, even if we are bound to encounter mishaps with the car. In any case, it’s a long-term project”.

CASALE IS YAMAHA’S T3 TRUMP IN THE PACK
In tandem with the Audi Evo2 and the 3rd generation of the Mini, Sven Quandt also had another project on the back burner in 2022, namely one commissioned by Yamaha in which Peterhansel was seen behind the wheel on the Andalucía Rally last October. The new X-Raid Yamaha Supported Team prototype arrives on the Dakar with the three times winner of the Dakar on a quad, Ignacio Casale (2014-18-20), as its spearhead. In 2019, the Chilean had already tried his luck in a lightweight vehicle, but without success, because he was forced to exit the race early. This time, he boasts the status of leader of the new official Yamaha team and is not holding back about his ambitions: “I’m very happy about this alliance with Yamaha, with whom I’ve already won the Dakar three times on a quad. This year, I received an offer to try out a very competitive prototype with which I think we will be able to achieve some great things. Climbing onto the podium for this first attempt would be a good result for the team and I. I’ve been training for three years in my own SSV in Chili. In September, I spent twenty days in Morocco trialling the prototype and I accepted Yamaha’s offer without hesitating”.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
For the third edition of the Dakar Classic, two new challenges are making an appearance, two races within the race, reserved for rather special competitors. The Iconic Classic Club brings together and rewards vehicles that have actually previously participated in the Dakar. This is the case for 15 vehicles on the list of competitors registered. There are cars that already took part last year, such as the spry Team FJ Protruck buggy (#701) driven by the Galpin couple, which back in the day had been between the hands of Bruno Saby, or also Pajero #727, which has conserved the colours of the legendary Ralliart team, just as it was when Jean-Pierre Fontenay drove it on three Dakar rallies between 1989 and 1993. Among the newcomers, three vehicles have especially caught the attention of connoisseurs. One such machine is one of the examples of the Peugeot P4 military vehicle (#731), specially developed by Peugeot Talbot Sport in 1988 to ensure speedy race assistance for Ari Vatanen. Still closer to the origins of the Dakar and in the wake of the Sunhill and Cotel buggies, the Barlerin couple will be attempting the adventure with the Strakit buggy (#738), a French prototype that took part in the Dakar in 1982 without getting any further than Gao! In the heavier vehicle class, apart from the DAF from the De Rooy workshop, the Pegaso 7222 (#906) in Spanish colours entered by TH-Trucks team managed a podium finish in 1986 driven by Salvador Canellas. The winner of the lightweight truck category, this rarity was only produced in four examples. The Authentic Codriver Challenge, the other new feature of 2023, is reserved for crews whose co-pilot has made the choice of navigating without the assistance of modern technology. In short, two challenges for the diehards!

BIKES: BONUSES FOR THE OPENERS
In order to counteract the yo-yo effect which can lead to a certain amount of gamesmanship, a new rule will be introduced to this addition of the Dakar before being applied to the entire 2023 W2RC season. This phenomenon reached its peak on the Dakar in 2022, when Sunderland and Walkner deliberately slowed to a stop for several minutes at the end of the special on stage 11 in order to avoid having to open the way the next day for the penultimate stage which was set to be decisive. According to David Castera, “We want to reward the bikers who take on the task of marking out the tracks for the others. As a result, we will be giving time bonuses to the three riders who each day have spent the most time opening the way on the special between the start and the refuelling point”. In concrete terms, the first two hundred kilometres of the special will be dotted with way points which will provide time bonuses: 1.5 seconds per kilometre covered between two bonus way points for the first rider, 1 second for the second and 0.5 seconds for the third. As a result, if the bonus way points are placed between the start and the 20-kilometre, mark, the first rider to cover 20 kilometres will receive a 30 second bonus (20 x 1.5’’ = 30’’), and so on and so forth until refuelling. The total of these bonuses will automatically be deducted from the rider’s time on the day on arrival at the finishing line. Approximately ten or fifteen bonus sections will be placed along the route of the special, making it possible, in the best case, to gain approximately 5 minutes of bonuses if the first rider to set off retains the lead until the refuelling point (200 x 1.5’’ = 300’’). This new feature will make its appearance on stage 3. Stages 1, 2 and 14 will not be concerned, since their profiles are not conducive to this sort of boost. Joan Barreda, the currently active record holder for victories on specials (29) is especially well placed to share his comments on this change: “I mentioned the idea of bonuses with David Castera during the presentation of the 2022 W2RC calendar a year ago. I was in favour of this system that A.S.O. has already been using on cycling’s Tour de France. The openers are often too penalised for their efforts, especially since we have been in Saudi Arabia on more open and sandier terrains, all the more so last year with the damp ground conditions. I think this change is a good idea. Even if it doesn’t allow that much time to be gained, it’s sufficient to avoid riders from trying to plan to set off no higher than tenth position. For riders like me who opened the way for plenty of kilometres last year, it’s a real source of motivation, but for those who remained in approximately fifth place during the entire race, it won’t be interesting for them”.