The quad rider of the Novara family

Dakar 2018 | Stage 12 | Fiambalá / Chilecito > San juan
January 18 ^th 2018 - 03:08 [GMT -3]

Quad rider Pablo-Luis Novara is racing in his second Dakar with the ambition to make it to the finish this time round. His famil stands fully behind him.

For Pablo-Luis Novara, the Dakar runs in the family. As a boy, he would stay fixed in front of the telly on the rare occasions when the Dakar was broadcast in Argentina. The rally's arrival in South America planted the seed of his participation in his mind. He made his debut last year, only to drop out during stage 3. Now that he has overcome the fearsome Fiambalá stage, the dream of the farmer from Santa Fe is just three days away. Pablo-Luis has had a gruelling but relatively uneventful adventure so far: "It's a unique experience and I feel lucky to participate. I was really excited to start this rally. From a sporting perspective, the best part of the race was in Bolivia, but that was also where I suffered the most, particularly in the stage to Uyuni, where I got really chilled and had some trouble with the weather. Now I'm enjoying the Argentinian stages because I love everything that has to do with my country". Novara's home-coming has also been an occasion to see his family, which is also crazy about this extraordinary rally: "I left them in Peru and yesterday they joined me for the Argentinian part of the rally", explains the rider who has infused three generations with the Dakar fever. "They'll give me a boost to make it to Córdoba." Pablo-Luis's wife leads the family in this trip together with their daughters, Sofía and Ferella, as well as young Valentino… "who is named for Rossi, of course", the Novaras cry in unison. "The little one is the future. This is already his second Dakar… and he's got a mini-electric quad back home!" Keep an eye on him…