N°641 Coche SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

TOMAS TOMECEK

(cze) Nació el 26/06/1970

Aficiones

Expeditions, motorsport

Sponsors

Tom Racing, South Racing

2023: 21st (fast assistance for South Racing)
2022: 24th (fast assistance for South Racing)
2021: 16th (1st assistance truck, fast assistance for South Racing)
2010: Ab.
2009: Ab.
2007: 11th
2006: Ab.
2005: Ab.
2004: 6th
2003: 2nd
2002: 10th
2001: Ab.
2000: 4th
1999: 3rd
1998: Ab. (navigator for Bedrich Sklenovsky)
1996: 2nd (navigator for Karel Loprais)
1995: 1st (navigator for Karel Loprais)

2024: Africa Eco Race (1st)
2014: Africa Eco Race (1st)
2012: Africa Eco Race (1st)
2011: Africa Eco Race (1st)
2009: Rally Morocco (1st)
2008: Rally Tunis (1st)
2006: Rally Morocco (1st)
2005: Rally Morocco (1st)
2004: Baja Germany (1st)
2003: Rally Berlin (4th)
2001: Rally Berlin (3rd)
1996: Transylvania Trophy (Ab.)
1995: Rally Paris-Beijing (4th)

“Our goal is to help out racers in the desert”

CREW FACTS

T.T.

  • Tomas Tomecek is a genuine Dakar legend who first did the rally back in 1995. It was a seriously impressive debut performance, as he navigated Czech star Karel Loprais to overall victory in the trucks. The 54-year-old then got behind the wheel himself from 1999, coming as high as 2nd in 2003.
  • Tomas also had a memorable adventure at Dakar 1998, when the truck in which he was navigating for Bedrich Sklenovsky was stolen in Mali. It was a big loss for Czech motorsport, because that was the Tatra 815 in which Loprais had claimed Dakar victory in 1994 and 1995.
  • Tomas is also a 5-time winner of the Africa Eco Race. Incredibly, in a testament to his all-around abilities, he was driving alone in the truck when he won twice, without a navigator or mechanic. No wonder he's earned himself the nickname Captain Solo!
  • Also known as The Desert Master, Tomas has spent several years working as a sweeper truck driver with his own team, Tom Racing. Since 2021, he has provided fast assistance for South Racing on the Dakar. Four years ago, he finished as the leading assistance truck in 16th overall.
  • Tomas has assembled the same crew he had at Dakar 2023, with navigator Ard Munster and mechanic Niccolo Funaioli. They'll once again be competing in his instantly recognisable orange Tatra 815-2T0R45, which is almost 20 years old and can carry up to a ton of spare parts. Tomas refers to it as his "10-ton motorcycle".  

A.M.

  • Ard Munster grew up in a motorsport-mad family, surrounded by a brother, uncles and nephews who were into dirt track racing. As soon as he reached the age of 16, he began driving himself. He says the goal was always: "minimum budget and maximum fun".
  • The Dutchman met Tomas Tomecek when they worked together on a sweeper truck at the Morocco Desert Challenge. A few years later, when Tomas needed a navigator for Dakar 2023, he called Ard and invited him to join the crew. The 35-year-old thus made his debut at the world's toughest rally, which he used to watch on TV as a kid.
  • Ard has continued to work at the Morocco Desert Challenge in recent years, even in Tomas's absence. At the last few editions, he has operated the Crisis Centre (PCO) with Floor Maten.
  • Away from rally-raid, Ard works as a quality engineer for a company that makes ventilation units for residential purposes.

N.F.

  • Like his crewmate Ard Munster, Niccolo Funaioli grew up watching the Dakar on television and fell in love with rally-raid.
  • He started participating in rallies after 8 years of working in the R&D department at Beta Motorcycles, a manufacturer based near his home city of Florence.
  • After leaving Beta, he was asked to help out as a mechanic on the Merzouga Rally. He went on to discover events like the Silk Way Rally and the Morocco Desert Challenge with various teams before making his Dakar debut in the South Racing assistance truck in 2022.
  • This will be his 3rd Dakar outing with Tomas Tomecek and he's looking forward to it – “I love working with Tomas!

2025 AMBITIONS

T.T.:My best memories of the Dakar are my first one in 1995, when I won as a navigator for Karel Loprais, then when I came third in the T4 trucks class in 1999, and second in the trucks at Dakar 2003. There was also Dakar 1998 when our truck was stolen in the desert near Taudeni in Mali! That was my last time in the Tatra factory team. I'm also a five-time winner of the Africa Eco Race, which traces the route of the original Dakar. These days, as a fast assistance driver, I can use our manual-transmission Tatra 815 with its original Tatra V12 engine. Our goal is to be of use to the South Racing Can-Ams and help out racers in the desert. I used to do it before, driving sweeper trucks for my Tom Racing team. Our crew is very friendly and we're looking forward to being together again. For us, a successful Dakar means a satisfied client!”

A.M.: “As a child, it became a tradition to watch the Dakar every January. It was the only time my parents would let me eat in front of the television! In 2017 I started volunteering at the Morocco Desert Challenge as a navigator on the sweeper truck, close to the action. I teamed up with Tomas for a few years and he invited me to be his navigator for Dakar 2023. That edition was tough. Not the rally itself, but mainly fitting my 2-metre body into a truck! The Tatra is not very comfortable and some days we needed to adapt the helmet to my large head. On the first day I got a blister on my forehead, so every bump hurt. For Dakar 2025 I'm hoping for less forehead pain and more fun! I think I will enjoy it more because it's not new anymore. With the sweeper truck the main goal is helping participants. Our slogan is ‘We should not finish first, but last’. The goal is to help the South Racing team, to finish in time and most importantly to reach the marathon and 48h Chrono bivouacs. The Chrono is new for me, but camping under the stars is something that never gets old! Working with Tomas is fantastic. He's a real Dakar legend and 100% in control of his truck. With his confidence, navigating is so much fun, and there's room to make mistakes and learn from them. During our sweeper service in Morocco, we gained a lot of experience together in rescuing participants in the dunes at night. We only need a few words and smiles to understand each other perfectly.”

N.F.: "I fell in love with rallies when I was 8 or 9 years old. I remember watching old VHS cassettes of the Dakar and seeing a group of riders lost in a desert village in the middle of nowhere. They were looking at a map, searching for north, trying to understand where they were. Then they quickly set off again in a cloud of dust. It was exciting. Since that moment I've been in love with desert and rallies. After working for Beta, I was asked to do the Merzouga Rally, then I got offered more jobs with South Racing and other teams. I love working with Tomas. He's an unbelievable driver, very experienced and safe, he makes me very comfortable. It's so good to ride with a legend like him, you learn about everything. Working with him and Ard is very good and very easy. The main thing I love about being a fast assistance mechanic is that I feel the riders and drivers all trust me. They know I can do a good job and help them achieve good results. If I can get a rider back into the rally quickly thanks to my work, then it's great and gives me a lot of satisfaction. I expect to do 100% to help the team reach the finish of Dakar 2025 with all of their cars. That's my goal."

Vehículo

SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

TATRA 815-2T0R45
SOUTH RACING CAN-AM

  • TATRA
  • 815-2T0R45
  • Tatra V12 air-cooled
  • 700hp
  • 10,500 kg
  • Tom Racing / South Racing
  • South Racing
  • T5.2: Race Service Assistance Trucks

Clasificación 2025

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