Dacia in motorsport: between oddities and fantasies

If the Romanian manufacturer, formerly specialized in "low-cost" vehicles, does not have the reputation of a sporting brand, certain models entered in competition have entered posterity for their... eccentric side.

Published on 30/01/2024 à 15:23

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Dacia in motorsport: between oddities and fantasies

In the collective imagination, few people connect Dacia to the world of motorsport. The Romanian firm, integrated within the group Renault, rather has the reputation of a “low-cost” brand, even if the models have been moving upmarket in recent years. Nevertheless, Dacia has a small history in motorsport, whether through official commitments or private initiatives. At the dawn of a new chapter in Rally-Raid with the Sandrider, which will be entered in the Dakar in 2025, return to the sometimes impressive, sometimes unusual Dacia models in competition.

Logan Cup

The Dacia Logan Cup was at the time a “low-cost” touring car championship created and managed by Renault Sport. It used Logans and took place all over Europe: in Germany, Romania, Russia and obviously, in France, in the form of a championship of rallycross. Organized in France between 2008 and 2010, the Logan Cup aimed to make motor sports accessible with as low an operating cost as possible.

Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak

You will never see a Dacia more extreme and more powerful than the “No Limit” Duster. As its name suggests, this Dacia with its disproportionate proportions was entered in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, in the Unlimited category. An 850 horsepower Duster driven three times by Jean-Philippe Davraut. The Frenchman will finish 3rd in the 2011 edition with a time of 10 minutes and 17 seconds.

Dacia Logan “24 Hours of the Nürburgring”

This was the attraction of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in 2023: the Dacia Logan n°118, driven by Oliver Kriese, Michael Lachmayer and Maximilian Weissermel, was entered in the SP-3 category and shared the Nordschleife with much more powerful GT3s ! But the story had a dramatic end: in the middle of the night, the amusing Dacia was violently hit by the Porsche GT3 from the Dinamic GT team driven by Laurin Heinrich. “Our Logan is dead and beyond repair, explained the Ollis Garage Racing team. So the Dacia project is dead too. We can no longer rebuild this car, as the engine is no longer being built. »

Dacia Logan STCC

A Dacia Grand Touring version, what does that mean? Well, that gives us the Logan STCC, designed by the Dacia Nordic teams in 2013. A very sporty, almost confusing version of the everyday Logan, entered in the STCC, the Scandinavian Supertouring championship. Under the hood, a V6 of around 400 hp is there to propel the beast, for a weight contained under 1 kg. Between 100 and 2013, the Logan STCC won several podiums and a victory thanks to Mattias Andersson.

Dacia Duster / Lodgy “Andros Trophy”

Before Sébastien Loeb joins the Romanian manufacturer and its Rally-Raid program, another legend of French motorsport had already taken the wheel of a Dacia in competition: Alain Prost. The four-time world champion F1 was driving a Lodgy on the Andros Trophy, at a time when the brand was heavily involved in the now-defunct championship. In 2012, Alain Prost and Dacia even won the Andros Trophy!

Dacia Sandrider

And here is Dacia’s new sporting chapter: the Sandrider. Inspired by the Manifesto concept car, presented in 2022, the Sandrider will be approved in the premier category of Rally-Raid, the Ultimate T1+. This prototype was designed by the teams ofAlpine Racing, in collaboration with Prodrive, and will be operated by the British team in 2025 for the Dakar and the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC).

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