A chip off the old block

Dakar 2021 | Stage 5 | Riyadh > Al Qaisumah
January 7 ^th 2021 - 09:30 [GMT + 3]

Leonardo and Suany Martínez have stuck together like glue since the start in Jeddah. Father and daughter vowed to finish the rally together as a team.

 Leonardo is racing in his seventh Dakar —the sixth in a row— and Suany in her third after two failed attempts to finish the race in 2017 and 2019. Will third time be the charm? "She has matured," points out her father. "She pays more attention to hazards. She's improved her handling skills but still has room for improvement in the navigation department". Leonardo decided to follow his daughter to make sure she does not get lost in the Saudi desert. "I ride right behind her". And, if something needs to be fixed along the way, he jumps right in to lend a hand. Yesterday, on the road between Wadi ad-Dawasir and Riyadh, Leonardo patched up first a fuel pump and then a speed sensor on his daughter's quad. Leonardo, an engineer in everyday life, is not one to give up easily. "My father always taught me you should never give up," explains Suany. "When you want something, you need to do what it takes to get it without relying on anyone else. It forged my character". He has nice things to say about her too: "She's brave and doesn't give up easily". These qualities will come in handy, as the rest of the rally is going to be tough. "My father said the second week would be harder, but I'm ready," she says. While the immediate priority is to help Suany finish her first Dakar, Leonardo harbours a secret ambition to share a Dakar with his family in an SSV. "She'd drive and I'd be in charge of navigation". She does not necessarily share his enthusiasm for the idea. "If he really wants it, we'll do it," she says. "But, personally, SSVs aren't my cup of tea. I love quads. I'm 29 years old and I've been riding quads since I was 9. It might be harder than driving SSVs, but it's also more fun". Suany, who manages a Can-Am dealership in Bolivia, is focused on her sole objective of making it to Jeddah. It all hinges on her being able to stay on track.