Before the start on Saturday of the 45th edition of the Dakar Rally, “Practicing motor sports does not seem to be in tune with these times” with the environmental emergency, admits the skipper of the famous David Castera test. “The Dakar must serve for somethingit is an open-air laboratory to prepare what will be the cars of the future”, he insists.
This will be the fourth edition to be run in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and from the ecuadorian motorsport there will be two representatives: Sebastian Guayasaminwhich will have its ninth participation, and Brad Salazarabsolute rookie.
“It was not an accident but a bomb attack on the Dakar Rally and they asked us not to talk,” says one of the people who escaped unharmed from the explosion
What additional security measures have been taken after the 2022 edition was the scene of an explosion, according to French investigators?
Taking into account what happened last year, although we have not had access to the file, we have increased security with local forces, the Saudis help us. We have increased security, especially in access to the bivouac (…) On the other hand, we do the entire route with the authorities and we have carried out a books (route book) huge, with all the arrival and departure points, all the road junctions, all the refreshment points and possibly the spectator areas to guarantee safety at each of the points. It is another aspect of rally safety.
The environmental question is in all the debates. What does the Dakar do to catch up?
It is the problem of all motorsports. It is true that currently practicing a motor sport does not seem to be in tune with these times, but this also allows the development of tomorrow’s vehicles. The Dakar has to be used for something, it is an open-air laboratory to prepare what will be the cars of the future. We are moving towards new vehicles that pollute less (…) We have many small projects that are beginning to see the light of day (electric, hydrogen, biofuels, etc.), but we are having difficulties. We have cars that are ready, but we can’t get them on the road because hydrogen (recharging) stations aren’t happening as fast as the technology is developing. You have to match the logistical challenges, the supplies, with the advancement of technology. It really is a big challenge, but we are there and we have launched a plan so that everyone is in low emission (low emissions) in 2026. Zero does not exist, but we can reduce them.
Ultra efficient racing cars coincide with others from the period in a rally in which half of its participants are amateurs. Are there two Dakars in one?
The point of convergence is the passion for mechanics, the desert and adventure. There is a kind of nostalgia for the Dakar of the 1980s, because it all began there and we always turn to the genesis of a story, so we stay with those years, the years of all the discoveries (…) The history of the Dakar is still written today. There are three stories: the one from the past, we must not forget where we come from because there are passionate ones. The current Dakar that is in the process of changing towards a Dakar of the future with projects in all senses. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
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