“We know how to play as a team to win”

Marek Goczal is the driving force of the Goczal family, a squad fighting among the Dakar top contenders for several years now. 2023 has been a memorable edition for them, with Marek finishing 3rd in the SSVs, while his 18-year-old son Eryk won the race and his brother Michal helped them to achieve this double-podium. The 48-year-old driver has been racing since he was a teenager, winning a national title in classic rally and competing in quads, but at the time he couldn’t afford to pursue a career in motorsport. Instead he focused on business and became a successful entrepreneur, with a portfolio that includes Poland’s biggest nightclub (Energy2000) and its biggest theme park (Energylandia). A few years ago, Marek decided to get back into motorsport and began competing in cross-country events with his younger brother Michal. They set up the Energylandia Rally team and eventually worked their way up to a first Dakar participation in 2021. Three years later, and after dominating the SSV category, the team is tackling the Challenger T3 class. It took the Rallye du Maroc as a preparation race, and Marek won it with his highly experienced co-driver and talented navigator Maciej Marton. A taste of what we will see in Saudi Arabia? More than that, the captain of the Goczal family dreams of a 1-2-3.

M.G.: “This is a very unique situation for our family: we are three with my son and my brother, from two generations. There is no other team like this on the Dakar! It’s our family passion, we know how to play as a team to win it. 2023 has been my happiest Dakar so far, with Eryk winning and me finishing third. But the first half of the year has been difficult, we didn’t know whether we would go to the next Dakar and with which car. We decided very late to drive new cars - Taurus T3 Max. We had very little time to prepare, organize logistics, test... I must admit that at the very end we had big problems, it seemed that we would not participate because the costs started to be too high for us. But finally, everything was organized. The goal is always the same: to win all stages! We can exchange wins with Eryk and Michał, but it's important that the wins stay in the team. The next goal, as I’ve been repeating for years, is to have the entire podium for the Energylandia Rally Team.”