The Oliana native will contest his third Morocco Rally in a car in the hope of getting the most out of his Toyota Hilux Overdrive in preparation for the 2022 Dakar.
The adjustments and modifications of the last few months on the vehicle will be put to the test in the southern Moroccan desert from October 8-13, with the support of Repsol, MGS Seguros, KH-7 and Toyota Spain.
"In Morocco I want to feel competitive and check that the car has the performance I'm looking for and that I'm able to squeeze the most out of it," says the Repsol Rally Team driver.
Isidre Esteve's 2021 season continues this week at the Rally of Morocco, which will be held in the area around Zagora (140 kilometers from the southern border with Algeria) from October 8 to 13. The appointment with the Moroccan desert marks the return of the driver from Lleida to the stage where in 2018 he achieved his best result in cars in an FIA event to date: 9th overall (2nd among the T1.2).
In his third participation in a car in what everyone in the world of raids considers the test of fire prior to the Dakar Rally every year (in 2020 it was not held due to COVID-19), Esteve will get behind the wheel of the Toyota Hilux Overdrive of the Repsol Rally Team with which he finished 13th in the Baja Aragon last July. The Oliana driver hopes to be able to squeeze out the modifications he has been working on for months with his co-driver, Txema Villalobos, and the rest of the Repsol Rally Team.
"It's going to be the first time I race in Morocco with this car because in 2020 we couldn't go and I'm really looking forward to it. Now we are much more adapted to it and we are able to get more out of it than in the 2021 Dakar. Already in the Baja Aragon it went very well and we have worked on the operation of the adapted controls, which are now more efficient and precise, especially in braking. This makes me more confident with the car and I hope to have a good pace in Morocco"
says Isidre Esteve, who will compete in his 16th Dakar next January.
"The car is wonderful and goes super well. In the Dakar I had the feeling that I couldn't get all the performance out of it because we didn't have time to test it calmly beforehand. When we came back from Arabia we started to work on the brakes and before the Baja Aragon we did some tests and there was a very important change. I was pleased to see in Teruel that these modifications were also translated in the race, that I could go more to the limit with them. I hope these changes will also work in a more Dakar-style race like Morocco".
All these modifications have made the Catalan driver more comfortable when it comes to squeezing his Toyota Hilux Overdrive, which he will be able to prove in the Moroccan dunes on a route that totals 2,681 kilometers, of which 1,633 will be timed.
"I am now more confident with the car when I go fast and I have more control, especially when braking. This improvement in braking and vehicle stability gives me more confidence and allows me to take more risks",
adds the driver, who has the support of Repsol, MGS Seguros, KH-7 and Toyota Spain.
Esteve does not set a specific goal in terms of results for the Rally of Morocco 2021, but he is clear about the sensations he wants to experience during the six-day race. "There are many drivers missing in Morocco, in addition to the official teams themselves. In the Dakar now there are 40 drivers going fast and in Morocco there will be around 15. The better we are at the end of the rally, the happier I will be, but for me it is also important to feel competitive and to see that I am able to get as much performance out of the car as possible. I want to leave there with the confidence that the car has the performance I'm looking for and that I'm able to get the most out of it," he says.
The 2021 edition of the Rally of Morocco has a record entry, with 100 cars entered, including some of the candidates for the top 15 of the 2022 Dakar Rally, despite the absence of the new T1+ in competition. The first contact will take place on October 6 with a shakedown to test the machines, before the prologue on the afternoon of October 8 and the first of the five stages on Saturday 9.
Automatic translation from the official press release
Source Repsol Rally Team
