“Like the Olympic Games for rally-raid drivers”

Denis Krotov heads to Dakar 2023 hoping to upset a few of the more fancied contenders in the cars. The 45-year-old has been competing offroad for many years and is now a familiar face on the rally-raid scene, having taken part in various FIA World Cups and the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). Somewhat surprisingly, he took his best Dakar result on his 2019 debut, finishing as the top rookie in 15th overall. He then came 17th in 2020, before dropping to 30th and 28th in the next two editions due to mechanical issues and misfortune. Since 2022 Denis has been relying on the navigational skills of experienced co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov, who has been doing the Dakar since the Africa days and finished on the podium in 2013. The pair haven’t quite lived up to their potential just yet, but for their third Dakar together they will be competing with a new car and team. Having spent his entire driving career with X-raid in a BMW or a Mini, Denis decided to mix things up after this year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, getting behind the wheel of an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. So far, the results speak for themselves; he and Konstantin came second at the Qatar International Baja, took top-five finishes at the Sonora Rally and Desafio Ruta 40, and then roared to a highly impressive second place at the notoriously tough Rallye du Maroc. The latter was their best showing to date on the W2RC, and hints at their potential for a top-10 finish at the Dakar. Denis certainly hopes to be fighting with the top crews as he gears up for what he describes as rally-raid's answer to the Olympics.

D.K.: "The Dakar is a big dream for all boys! I used to watch it on television, and after some time I got the opportunity to go and participate. For me, it’s the perfect race. We often do the World Rally-Raid Championship or the World Cup, but the Dakar is like the Olympic Games for rally-raid drivers. It’s the highest level of competition in the world. I started my motorsport career in a BMW X3 with X-raid. For a long time I raced with BMW and Mini, but I felt it was time to change a little bit, to check out other teams and cars. And now it’s time for Toyota! We’re hoping for a good result, to be up there with the top crews. We all know that there are a lot of good competitors at the Dakar. Of course, we’d like to stay in touch at the top, but the Dakar is a long and difficult rally. There can be all sorts of problems because it’s a mechanical sport. But we hope we can do our maximum and get closer to the top.”

K.Z.: “Rally-raid isn’t just about the driver, it’s also about the co-driver, the mechanics, the team. It’s everybody. We sometimes joke that the driver wins the race, the co-driver loses the race and the mechanics make all the mistakes! I’m a professional sportsman, so at every rally the target is to win, to do my job as well as I can. I’ve done the Dakar on all three continents. Africa was the real Dakar, Argentina was more WRC style, even if Peru was nice, and Saudi Arabia is the same as Africa."