"Of course, you want to be the best."


November 20 th 2019 - 13:04 [GMT + 3]

"Last year, we were leading stage five with Andrey Karginov, in the middle of nowhere, kilometre 200-something. There was a huge field of fesh-fesh, lots of dust everywhere. We were going 140 km/h, and then suddenly 50 metres in front of me there was a big pocket, over four metres deep. You can't stop a 10-tonne truck in 50 metres! So we had a big jump and crashed on the front right wheel, which broke, and we had to stop and repair it. We did manage to get to the finish line, but very late and after missing six or seven waypoints, so we were excluded. Still, we continued in the half-marathon class and came second. My fans and my family said, 'you have to continue', so we tried our best. If you look at the times we actually did really well, even when we started behind the first 25 vehicles. I wouldn’t say the 2019 season was hugely successful, but in terms of experience and how everything went, I'm really satisfied. We won Baja Aragon and came second at the Rallye du Maroc after some problems with the gearbox. Morocco was really tough. But there was an updated navigation system which will also be used on the Dakar, so it was really good preparation. I destroyed the truck quite a lot this year, but that's how you figure out what you need to develop! It was all good. We'll have a completely new truck for Dakar 2020. We've gone global with Iveco! Most of the truck is still the same, but the cab is new, and we've moved it further forward. So we are ready to compete with the top guys. It's not really my style to say, 'we're going to win!', but if you are racing then you are competing. And of course, you want to be the best. Our ambition is to be in the top five. We have a pretty young crew but with lots of experience. I don't know Saudi Arabia but I'm looking forward to it. I love changes in my life. In the eight years I've been doing the Dakar it's been in South America, so for me it's a really good change. For racing it will be one of the best editions."

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