The Dakar in a Porsche… like Metge
January 4
th
2024
- 22:40
[GMT + 3]
The joint history of the Porsche brand and the Dakar began in 1984 with victory for René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne in a 953-type 911 which was custom-made following the instructions of Jacky Ickx. In 1985, the all-wheel drive did not enjoy the same success, with all three drivers exiting the rally prematurely. 1986 was the high point for Porsche, as well as its revenge and farewell to the Dakar. The crews made up of René Metge/Dominique Lemoyne and Jacky Ickx/Claude Brasseur scored a resounding one-two. As a tribute to 1986, two crews will be taking part in the 4th edition of the Dakar Classic behind the wheels of two Porsche 959 replicas.
The couple formed by Lidia Ruba and Juan Morera will be sporting number 700, the figure denoting the title holders on the Dakar Classic who, after having participated in 2022 in a 4x4 Fiat Panda, triumphed in 2023 in a Toyota HDJ 80. They are specialists at sea changes in their choice of vehicle and this year’s will be attracting many impressed looks at the bivouac, an initiative for which Juan is responsible: “When I saw the Porsche 911 three years ago, I couldn’t have even dreamed that it would be possible for me to experience this. However, each year we have set ourselves a new challenge. I remember dining at the bivouac with Jacky Ickx and his wife last year and we spoke about his participations in the 959. A week after the Dakar had finished, I sent him a message telling him I was going to do the next edition of the Dakar Classic with a 959”.
Without informing his wife, who he again registered behind her back for a 4th edition of the Dakar Classic, Juan contacted Jérémy Athimon, the “flat” specialist on the event: “First and foremost, I was delighted by the fact that Juan, last year’s winner, called me. I said yes straight away and put Juan in contact with Frédéric who also asked me to prepare a Porsche, so that we could put forward a team like back in the day with two cars enrolled. On 8th June, we had original Porsches that anyone with enough money can buy, so it goes without saying that the nights have been very short for the last few months. We had already developed the two Porsche 911s that have been taking part in the Dakar over the last two years. We also drew inspiration from the 4x4s around us to develop the all-wheel drive version and took a trip to Porsche in Stuttgart where we were able to take a look at genuine 959s right down to the finest details. The all-wheel drive is a real new point and we are still at the test phase, just like on the Dakar back in the day when they tested the cars out in race conditions. We are going to try to avoid a triple withdrawal like in 1985 and make sure we reach the finish”. As for the likelihood of seeing these two replicas reacquaint themselves with history, the title holder is not deluding himself: “I think it will be difficult to win with this car because it hasn’t been tested, but we are going to try our best and I trust in Lidia who is very competitive – she already proved that last year”.
Yesterday, on 3rd January in AlUla, the news of René Metge’s death gave another dimension to the tribute imagined by the Franco-Spanish crews. Crew number 759 driven by the Larre/Athimon duo – a nod to the 959 type – was parked at the foot of the podium for the general briefing before the 46th edition of the Dakar, which Metge directed in 1987 and 1988.
