CREW FACTS

I.P.

• Ales Loprais is racing the 2025 Dakar Rally with the Team de Rooy, but he also fields two trucks in the Dakar Classic category. The project took almost two years of preparation. The legendary Czech driver decided to put one of them in Igor Pazdera’s hands, and a good one: it’s a replica of the Tatra Puma that his uncle Karel drove during the African Paris-Dakar era. An honour and a big responsibility for Igor.

O.L.

• Olga is one of the Czech Republic’s most popular singer and songwriter. And if that wasn’t enough, in addition she’s a model, and she regularly appears on screen and stage as one of her country’s leading actresses.
• A true racing enthusiast, she also has an impressive car racing pedigree, both as a rally driver and co-driver. She did her Dakar debut in 2022, doing the Classic race in a beautifully prepared Mercedes G5000.
• The Czech star wanted to do the 2025 race with an Open Ascona, as she drove one during a 10-days race in Kenya. As the possibility of doing the 2025 edition faded away, Ales Loprais called her to offer to replace Jan Cermak in his Tatra truck. A last-minute opportunity that she seized with great enthusiasm!

M.H.

• Milan knows better than anyone what's in the bowels of the truck. The Czech was an employee of the Tatra factory development and research center until 1992. He also built the first Tatra 815 Dakar 4x4 and 6x6 prototypes for Alan Piatek's MAM Strager brand. He’s now building the Dakar prototypes of the Loprais Team and the Bonver Dakar Project.
• It's an understatement to say that Milan is used to exploring rally-raid tracks. Alternately a mechanic and navigator, he has participated in the Dakar 14 times, alongside renowned drivers like Ales Loprais or Tomas Vratny. His experience and skills will be some very important tools for the adventure to go to the finish line.