“I’ve learned a lot”
En resumen
- Taz Harvey came to Saudi Arabia with an impressive motor background, both personally and though his family, when he first participated in the Dakar Classic (2025). His dad was a professional flat-track racer who used his race winnings to buy a Triumph motorcycle dealership in California. Both Taz’s uncles also raced motorcycles.
- The family went on to open one of the very first Honda dealerships in the States which they still have today, alongside a Mazda concession.
- On the racing side, Taz had already competed with a few Dakar legends, such as Stéphane Peterhansel and Gilles Lalay, when he raced the ISDE in ’89 (Germany) and ’90 (Sweden). He even managed to get a gold medal riding an 80cc Kawasaki!
- At around the same time he was approached by KTM to be a support rider for another American planning on entering the Dakar. In the end the project never came to fruition but the urge to enter the Dakar was born.
- His first participation came to an abrupt end when a crash injured his navigator. But he’s learned from his first experience and feels ready to make it through the desert all the way to the end of the 2026 edition.
- Rocco Sbaraglia shares with his father Gianluca a consuming passion for motors, especially Pontiacs, and most particularly the iconic Firebird. Together, they run a website dedicated to Pontiac cars in Italy.
- In 2025, Rocco followed the track of Gianluca, a seasoned competitor, with a maiden participation in the Dakar Classic. Father and son dream of a joint participation in the world’s most iconic rally-raid.
- After he made it through the desert aboard Giuliano Bergo’s truck in 2025, Rocco gets aboard Taz Harvey’s Nissan Terrano for the 2026 Dakar Classic. An opportunity to climb the ranks and broaden his horizons.
Ambición
TZ: “Stepping in the world of Dakar last year was a lot of fun. I was already thinking about coming back on the airplane ride home from Dakar 2025. My race ends early due to a crash. I came off a dune real hard and injured my co-driver. Mike [Krynock] is doing fine but it was a really unfortunate event. After that, I thought it was a mistake I shouldn’t have made, but I didn’t really know what to expect.
I think that I’ve learned a lot and it’s helped me prepare for Dakar 2026. So, I feel a little better this year going into it because I have some experience from last year. I also have a new copilot, Rocco, who is experienced and will help me out. I feel like I have a good chance of finishing.
It’s a difficult race with very long days. It’s a big gruelling event and you’re focusing for 8-10 hours a day. That’s not something you usually see in most racing. I mostly do GT racing, which is a short amount of time on a closed circuit in road race cars. And even when I do Baja, the race is broken up in smaller sections.
So you have to really be prepared going into the Dakar. I have a great team with Tecnosport and Montana. They’re very experienced and they take a lot of worries out. I’m very confident in the car they’ve given me, and the rest is up to us. Finishing is an accomplishment, that’s the primary goal.”
RS: “I feel ready for Dakar 2026, much more than last year! The first few days were difficult because it was all new to me. I had never seen the desert before! At first it shocked me. Then, from the third or fourth day onward, things went well, even though the truck had a few problems. We managed to finish 28th in a stage, all classes combined, which was a great result for a truck. I’ve become really good with regularity instruments and I’m ready for more.
The dynamic will be different with a car. It’s lighter, faster. On a truck, you’re also here to assist other participants… Now we should be the ones receiving assistance. It will definitely be easier to aim for a result.
We get on very well with Taz. I’m sure I can bring him some good experience when it comes to regularity, but he’s already very good at driving and navigating. We can be a winning pair and I hope I can live up to his expectations.”
