The car has a new, more aerodynamic bodywork to face the desert
The tandem composed by the experienced driver Manolo Plaza and his co-driver and daughter, Monica Plaza, faces the Dakar with the strength of experience and excited "as the first day". The two have been competing together for three editions, and to talk about Manolo Plaza is to talk about the Dakar event, in which he has participated 15 times. "We are excited to be already in Saudi Arabia, at the gates of the competition", after passing the technical verifications. The competition starts tomorrow, January 31, and will last until January 15.
In the Sodicars team, the Cuenca team will compete with the same vehicle as in the last edition, which this time improves with the premiere of a new bodywork and managing to reduce part of its weight. "This is a multi-year project to have an increasingly competitive car. We have continued to make progress and for this Dakar we have a new image, a more aerodynamic design created by the University. In addition to the reliability of a car that we know inside out", explains Manolo Plaza.
The Plaza's team is a solid and united team, with Sodicars Racing in the mechanics and a group of loyal sponsors such as Lasercor, Momentum Task Force, Einsa, Reyuplas, Nébula, Ucalsa, Agyfer, Next Electric Motors, Diputación de Cuenca, Lasecor, Hortícolas Galegas, Sgm and Sorma Group.
Their goal is to give their best version and get rid of the bad memory of last year, when they had to abandon after suffering an accident with a truck that bent the very hard rollover protection structure. And from which they both escaped unharmed.
"The Dakar is a unique life experience from which you always come out stronger. Facing it tests your limits in every way, mentally and physically. And what could be better than doing it with a great driver, who is also my father. Navigating in the desert is really complicated and because of the morphology of the terrain, you can't see the dangers until they're right in front of you, so you have to have a good eye and anticipate them", explains Mónica Plaza.
The Dakar is the toughest rally in the world and for the third year the dunes of Saudi Arabia will once again be the stage. For this 45th edition, the Plaza team has prepared psychologically and physically. "We have a great rapport, we understand each other perfectly and that is essential because anything can happen," says Manolo.
Both have worked together and separately due to professional commitments. Manolo has spent several weeks in the sands of Morocco, while Monica has just finished a frenetic season in which she was Eduard Pons' co-driver in the World Cross Country Lowland Championship, where they finished fourth in T4. And she has also been an award-winning driver in the Avatel National All-Terrain Rally Championship (CERTT) where she has achieved
Automatic translation from the original Spanish version
Source: Official press release
