“We had a great ride last year”

For the second year running, Dakar legend Tomas Tomecek will be driving a fast assistance truck for the South Racing team: a tried-and-tested Tatra 815. The 51-year-old returned to the rally in 2021 after an absence of over a decade, having preferred to continue racing in Africa throughout most of the 2010s. After the cancellation of the Africa Eco Race, he was offered the chance to discover the Saudi Arabian version of the Dakar, and clearly enjoyed it enough to accept a second invitation for 2022. Tomas was one of the stars of the rally in the 1990s and 2000s, navigating Czech great Karel Loprais to victory in the trucks in 1995 and claiming two podium finishes as a driver. The ‘Desert Master’ clearly hasn’t lost his touch; last year, despite making frequent stops and carrying over a tonne of material to help out the South Racing competitors, he still finished as the quickest of the dozen assistance trucks in 16th place. At Dakar 2021, Tomas drove his instantly recognisable orange Tatra with old right-hand man Ladislav Lala and mechanic Philipp Rettig, but for this 2022 edition he is joined by Leopold Padour, a member of his Tom Racing team, and South Racing mechanic Niccolo Funaioli. Last year, South Racing and their affiliates Monster Energy had the top three in the SSVs: Chaleco Lopez, Austin Jones and Aron Domzala. The Germany-based outfit once again have a fleet of major contenders in the T3s and T4s, which should make it a very busy Dakar for truck #550.

T.T.: “We were preparing our Tatra for the 2021 Africa Eco Race, but an email came saying the rally would not take place. Fortunately, we then got an offer from the South Racing team to help with their SSVs at the Dakar. So when it looked like we would be sitting at home in January, we suddenly had a job again! We enjoyed the rally. The Tatra held up well, and I think Philipp was quite excited, because on his two previous starts in the assistance truck he was always right at the back. We had a great ride last year. I really liked the tracks, the landscape and the dunes – the kind you don't often see in Africa nowadays. The organisers also had perfect catering! Everything worked out well.”