"More responsibility, but also more chance of springing a surprise."

This will be a third Dakar outing for Ricardo Porem, who returns as the principal driver for the Borgward Rally Team. Last year, the 31-year-old and his younger brother Manuel were in car #2 for the German manufacturers, racing alongside double Dakar winner Nani Roma. But with the Spaniard switching to the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, Ricardo is set to enjoy an even bigger share of the limelight as Borgward's new #1. The plan was for the two-time Portuguese offroad champion to come back with Manuel, but the latter has been forced to pull out for professional reasons. Instead, Ricardo will link up with Jorge Monteiro, with whom he completed his maiden Dakar in an SSV in 2019. They came 11th in the final South American edition, after losing quite a bit of time on Stage 7. Ricardo and Manuel were then forced to abandon Dakar 2020 due to mechanical issues, having been let down by their gearbox in the first week. A native of Leiria, to the north of the capital Lisbon, Ricardo has been passionate about motorsport since he was a boy, although he didn't start competing until the age of 18. As well as winning those two national offroad titles in 2014 and 2017, he won four consecutive titles at Baja Portalegre 500, including once with Jorge in 2015. Now, the Portuguese pair are determined to go all the way in their Borgward BX7 Evo, and perhaps even upset a few more fancied contenders in the main T1.1 cars class.

R.P.: “Returning to the Dakar is always good news. Setting up a project like this during a pandemic is very challenging, of course. So I'm very happy to once again have the support of Wevers Sport and the Borgward Rally Team for this new adventure. This year I'm taking on the role of the main driver in the team, so there's more responsibility, but also more chance of springing a surprise. Even with two participations under my belt, I know that I'm still one of the least experienced drivers on the sands of the Dakar. I'll have to remain calm and focused to achieve my objectives, one of which is simply to finish the rally.”