Laia Sanz is heading for her 15th Dakar. The KH-7 rider faces her fourth participation in a car with the triple challenge of beating her record number of completed editions, improving on the 15th place overall achieved in the last edition and fighting for victory in the 4x2 category.
The challenge is not a minor one, given that there will be more official teams and drivers than ever, and most of them have been reinforced. To make matters worse, the driver from Corbera de Llobregat and her co-driver, Maurizio Gerini, have not competed in any race during the season and have not been able to ride the vehicle they will drive this year, a Century CR-6T.
Used to dealing with adversity and overcoming challenges, Laia Sanz is confident of her chances: “During this 2024 we have not competed in rally-raid, and that is missed, but the experience of last year and having the confidence that the car is going very well, will help us a lot. I'm really looking forward to starting, because it's already my fourth year in the car. I'm back in the two-wheel drive car and, as it was in the last Dakar, when we saw that we could be at the front, we have set ourselves the goal of trying to win the category and finish well in the overall standings. If we have a race with few mistakes and no mechanical problems, even if the 4x4s are a step above us, we can achieve a good result, although the priority is to fight with those we can measure ourselves against, which are the 4x2s”.
The KH-7 driver has in her favor the competitive level she has acquired in her still short career on four wheels, which has led her to be runner-up 2023 and 2024 in the Extreme E electric championship.
“I have evolved a lot in these four years as a car driver. From my first Dakar until now, I think I've upped the pace a lot. Having been able to race Extreme E with Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekström has made a decisive contribution to this. This evolution was clearly seen in Extreme E, where there is a high level and great riders, and in the end I was fighting with the guys, so I'm very happy. Having competed in 11 Dakars on bikes has also given me experience that I am now taking advantage of in the cars. Obviously, I would like to be able to do more kilometers during the year, but you always have to fight to the maximum with the tools you have to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. I've been in this situation before on the bikes, and now it's time to make our way on four wheels,” he says.
On the Dakar 2025, the 20-time world champion will be at the controls of a Century CR-6T, a rear-wheel drive buggy equipped with a V6 turbo engine identical to the one she drove on the last Dakar.
“It's a two-wheel drive, so the sand is the most complicated part; you suffer more, it's much easier to make mistakes, you go with more nerves... although for me, as a driver, the dunes are where I enjoy the most and where I think that with a 4x4 I could do better. Our car does well on fast stages in open desert or broken terrain... That's where you can take advantage of its full potential, so we will try to lose little when there is sand and do well on the days that are favorable for our vehicle”, he explains.
With 5,100 timed kilometers planned for the 47th edition of the Dakar Rally, Laia Sanz is very clear about how she has to tackle the event to achieve her goal of reaching the finish line for the 15th consecutive time among the best in the car category and with the category destined for 4x2 vehicles under her arm.
“We are planning the race from less to more, because the first week will be very hard, with the 48-hour time trial and the marathon stage so soon. We don't have to rush or be caught in a hurry, even if we can start further back in the starting order, which is quite possible, because we don't have priority status. In the last edition, the hardness increased a lot and I expect a similar Dakar, so we will have to keep a very cool mind and enter the race little by little. We have to take an intelligent approach.
The big date with the desert will start on January 3 in Bisha, Saudi Arabia, and will end on January 17 in Shubaytah.
Automatic translation of the Spanish version
Source: Laia Sanz, heading for her 15th Dakar
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
