Dakar: Champagne before departure!

Technical and administrative checks ended yesterday late afternoon for the Dakar crews. Before hitting the track, they enjoyed their New Year's Eve in the Argentine capital. The start will be officially given this afternoon No fewer than 134 cars and 52 trucks will start the rally.

Published on 01/01/2010 à 15:06

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The last act of the “checks” always takes on a special dimension with the parade of the big favorites for the title in the different categories. The prospect of imminent explanations invites journalists and spectators to sort out the technical and physical qualities of the contenders, predict the duels to come, assign probabilities of victory to each? In this atmosphere, those interested ride their machines and pump up their pectorals, with the dose of humility essential in view of the menu to come.

The highlight of this final day of preparations was the passage of the "checks" of the five Volkswagen crews, which monopolized the attention in the morning. Within the German team, the competition already promises some great fights, particularly between Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al Attiyah. The title holder, Giniel De Villiers, who is banking on his consistency, nevertheless identifies the threat elsewhere at the end of his reflection: “I believe that the BMW X3 will be much more dangerous for us than last year, and that Stéphane Peterhansel is in a better position to seek victory. Our biggest challenge will be to fight with them.”

As for the BMW X-Raid Team, the arrival of the man of all records gives new credibility to the ambitious announcements. “Peter” also believes that the work done on the car with his teammate Nani Roma allows him to aim, why not, for a tenth Dakar title: “It is certain that this figure attracts me and refuses to me for several years. If I succeeded, it would also be the achievement of a great challenge with the team which allowed us to bounce back.” To achieve this, he will have to trap the Race Touareg, but also contain the American Robby Gordon.

For advanced pilots and amateurs alike, the instructions are for sobriety and lightness when preparing the New Year's Eve menu. The year 2010 will begin with a podium ceremony at the foot of the famous obelisk of Buenos Aires. Then, they will have to face 9000 kilometers of roads, tracks and dunes across Argentina and Chile…