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Dakar 2024: Laia Sanz will seek revenge on her third Dakar in cars
- After 13 completed participations, the KH-7 rider is confident of her chances at the wheel of a 4x2 buggy superior to the one she drove in the last edition.
- With Maurizio Gerini as co-driver, he will fight for a place on the podium in the 4x2 category and a good result in the overall standings.
- "We're going with a better car, and Maurizio and I really want to get rid of the thorn from last year."
Laia Sanz is back on the attack in the Dakar Rally with an air of revenge. The KH-7 rider is counting down the days and hours until the start of the 46th edition, the fifth to be held in Saudi Arabia, which will start on January 5 in AlUla and finish in Yanbu on the 19th.
The Dakar Rally 2023 ended with a bittersweet taste for Laia Sanz. The rider from Corbera de Llobregat (Barcelona) was able to increase her statistics of finished participations (13) in the most demanding event in motorsport, but setbacks prevented her from fighting for a good result, and she had to settle for a 65th place overall and 14th in the two-wheel-drive category. Now, twelve months later, she is back on the same stage with one thing in mind: to be competitive, to demonstrate her great talent at the wheel and to reach the finish line for the 14th consecutive time.
To do so, Sanz will once again compete in the 4x2 category (T1.2) with his co-driver Maurizio Gerini, but he will do so with the astara 02 Concept, a more evolved and competitive vehicle than the one he drove in the last edition. It is a two-wheel-drive prototype weighing just 1,580 kilograms - the lightest weight in the category - powered by a 2,900 cm3 twin-turbo V6 engine and direct injection instead of the 01 Concept's 7-liter naturally aspirated V8.
"We're going with a better car, and Maurizio and I really want to get rid of last year's disappointment. The experience gained and knowing the car well in terms of mechanics makes us stronger. The astara 02 Concept has a more efficient, smaller engine, positioned lower to lower the center of gravity and weighs less, which makes it behave better," explains Sanz. "In terms of traction, it is also superior to the previous model, and in potholes it is safer. In addition, there is a little more visibility in the front hood, which for me was one of the points most in need of improvement. It goes very well in fast, rocky and bumpy stages, but obviously, being a 4x2, the weak point is the dunes. There you are at a big disadvantage compared to the T1+ 4x4", he adds.
For the Catalan, the key will be to have an intelligent and error-free race: "We have to set ourselves the goal of fighting to do well in our category, but I'm convinced that if we do well there, we will also do well in the overall". But what weighs more on the mind of the former best motorcycle rider in the history of the Dakar, finishing once again or having the option of a good result? Here's the answer: "Maybe I'd prefer, for example, to finish the event on day ten, but to do ten super good days, riding well and being at the front. The goal is to finish, but that's not enough for me; I'm competitive and what I want is to get a good position. I don't take away the value of having finished so many Dakars, but what I want is to do well.
The 20-time world champion (14 in trials and 6 in enduro) arrives at the desert event in good shape and having had a great season in the 4x4 electric Extreme E championship. She was runner-up at the last minute after leading the competition almost all year with two victories and four second places sharing the wheel with Mattias Ekström. Along the way, she has demonstrated her great progression and solidity as a car driver, something that will surely help her to take on the Dakar with self-confidence.
"I'll keep the positive, which is the growth as a driver, the improvement, the consistency... I've always been good, I've improved my body-to-body and above all my confidence. Now I go out knowing that I can do it, I can win my tasks and help the team. I think that my pace should also be noticeable on the Dakar", explains the KH-7 rider.
There are only 9 days left to see Laia Sanz in action with the astara 02 Concept, with which she will face 12 stages in 15 days and 7,891 kilometers of route, 4,727 of them timed.
Automatic translation of the original Spanish version
Source KH-7 Laia Sanz
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