THE DACIA SANDRIDERS: INITIAL DAKAR TESTING COMPLETE, NEXT STOP MOROCCO

The Dacia Sandriders team has completed its initial testing phase as part of its ongoing preparations for next January’s Dakar, the ultimate motorsport challenge it will take on for the first time.

Following a systems’ check at the Millbrook Proving Ground in the UK, The Dacia Sandriders spent four days at the Sweet Lamb testing complex in Wales, UK, from May 6-9. The team then headed to Château de Lastours, France, for another four days of intense testing (May 27-31), where the three crews had the opportunity to test the Sandrider, fitted with BF Goodrich tyres, on a rocky and demanding terrain.

Cristina Gutiérrez was behind the wheel of the Sandrider for two days in Wales before Sébastien Loeb, the nine-time world rally champion, took over test and development duties.

Multiple Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah got his first taste of the Sandrider power at Château de Lastours over two days. Sébastien returned to the cockpit for the one and a half days with Cristina called on for the final afternoon of running.

The Dacia Sandriders’ team principal Tiphanie Isnard confirmed that the initial testing phase had exceeded expectations with very few issues experienced by Al-Attiyah, Gutiérrez and Loeb and the organisation’s expert engineers and technicians.

Extensive work is now under way ahead of the first comprehensive test in Morocco from June 28-July 5. That’s when the Sandrider will be put through its paces on terrain similar to what will be encountered during the Dakar, the opening round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship in Saudi Arabia from January 3-17, 2025.

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“The test in Château de Lastours was the first time for me to jump in the Dacia Sandrider. I found it easy to drive, fast and strong. We did 270 kilometres on the first day and the same on the second day. There were no issues and we enjoyed it a lot. We are in a good way for the next tests and I can’t wait to get to Morocco.”

CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“Having the opportunity to see the Dacia Sandrider in action and cover my first kilometres in the car has been incredible. I am feeling very comfortable in the car, adapting to a new type of car and a new category for me. There are still many important test days ahead, but in general we are super-happy with the work of the team. We cannot ask for more. It is the general feeling to be very proud of the car's performance in these first tests.”

SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“The testing has gone very well. I did one day in the UK and two days in France. We worked on the suspension and the diff to find a good balance with the car and I was really happy with how it worked. The engine was working well since the start and we didn’t have any problem with the car. Based on the experience of a brand-new car it’s looking really good and I look forward to continue the testing in Morocco.”

PHILIP DUNABIN, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“We have completed a series of initial tests before we go for our first test in a real rally-raid environment in Morocco. So far everything has gone astonishingly smoothly with no serious problems. We’ve managed to sign off all the basic things in terms of the engine, we’ve done quite a lot more work than we expected to do on the suspension set-up and the transmission settings have been reviewed in terms of the differentials. The suspension had a real good going over not just during the test at Sweet Lamb but very much so in the test at Château de Lastours. Now, we’ve got a lot of work cleaning up a lot of the details putting the car into a state that is ready to go on a rally. We managed to highlight one or two problems in terms of the crew’s installation inside the car that we want to make some improvements and they should also be in place before we do the tests in Morocco. Everything is looking really positive, only a couple of very minor things that we were able to work on quite quickly. Now everybody is working flat out preparing everything for Morocco and we are very much looking forward to continuing our Dakar preparations there.”

Source: Dacia official press release