“This Dakar is even more meaningful”
En bref
- At 21 years old, Aliyyah Koloc is already a seasoned driver who has spent most of her life surrounded by motors and completed three Dakars.
- From a very young age, she witnessed her father’s success in the world of motorsport but her first inspiration was tennis. She started at 4 years old, with the ambition to become a professional player, until a knee injury set her on a different track.
- A polyglot, Koloc is used to traveling around the world, and especially through the great outdoors where she’s driven top end vehicles in all sort of settings after her beginnings in circuit racing. In 2025, she raced in China, Vanuatu, Morocco…
- For the Dakar 2026, she partners with Polish navigator Marcin Pasek aboard a new car, the Red-Lined Revo T1+ GTR. And she won’t be the only Koloc flying the colours of Buggyra ZM Racing in the desert as her father Martin also lines up in the T1+ class.
- The launch of her Foundation 29 this year to “preserve cultural heritage and support autism communities around the world” also demonstrates her maturity. “Racing has given me a platform to connect with people globally, and I want to use that to make a positive impact beyond motorsport.”
- Marcin Pasek steps into Dakar 2026 with a new team that consolidates his rising status in an event he’s attended every year since 2023. First, he was a team manager for Magda Zajac. Then he participated himself alongside Maha Alamli (2024) and Hassan Al-Saddadi (2025).
- The 29-year-old mechanical engineer impressed the heads of Buggyra ZM Racing with his dedication, versatility and ability to get the better of young talents. In 2025, he achieved strong results with Hamza Bakhashab in the Middle East and won the UTVR Polish Cross Country title with Kacper Melzig.
- For the Dakar 2026, he partners with 21-year-old Aliyyah Koloc to “form a young and strong duo” aboard the freshly developed Red-Lined Revo T1+ GTR.
Ambition
A.K.: “We’ve explored a lot of new places this year! Getting the chance to travel and race in so many environments has been amazing. Now, Dakar is the pinnacle of rally-raid, it’s such a special event. To be going for the fourth time already feels a bit crazy, but also really exciting!
From the top of my head, I’d say my second Dakar was probably the best out of the three because we had minimal issues. No one goes through a two-week rally without challenges, but I think we’ve also had our fair share of bad luck, especially in 2025. It felt like we were fixing something every second day. Even on the last stage, just 20 km from the finish, we had to stop.
My father is the reason I got into the sport, so seeing him race again after 25 years makes this year’s Dakar even more meaningful. We’ve been testing together and exchanging feedback, which has been super beneficial for me and the team. As for a family competition, of course, there’s a little bit of that friendly rivalry! We both want to perform our best. It’s more about mutual motivation than competition... though I’m sure we’ll both be checking the times. This time, I’ll finally understand the stress he feels when he doesn’t know where I am on the stage.
Ultimately, my goal is for both of us to make it to the finish line, and if one of us stops during the stage, the other will be there to help. Sharing our passion like this is something truly special, and I can’t wait.”
M.P.: “Every Dakar is different, and each one teaches you something new. I think the biggest lesson for me is the awareness of how huge a challenge it really is, as well as the growing confidence when facing adversity. For that reason, I also improved my physical preparation and for two years I’ve been working with professionals in this area. Of course, during this time I’ve also improved my navigation and learned the desert better. Every kilometre driven is added experience.
Aliyyah and I have mutual friends in the motorsport world who saw our potential and the possibility of creating a strong crew, so they helped connect us. Although the Dakar will be our first race together, we’ve already spent some time testing to get to know each other better and to build cooperation. I really enjoy working with young, talented drivers. And Aliyyah is undoubtedly one of them. She drives fast and confidently.”
