Without many resources, Colombians will take part this weekend in the most dangerous motor race on the planet in Saudi Arabia, marked by the health crisis due to the pandemic.
From this Saturday to January 15, the 43rd edition of the Dakar Rally will take place in Saudi Arabia, a regular competition with tragedies and difficult moments, but never with a pandemic, which put the event on hold until the last time, due to the closure of the borders announced a few weeks ago by the Saudi authorities after the detection of the new strain of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. With the reaction against the virus, the most dangerous motor race on the planet will have the presence of four Colombians for the 7,500 kilometers of route that begin and end in the city of Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea.
There are two Dakars: on the one hand there are those who run to win it and on the other hand there are those who fight to finish it. The differentiating factor? Budget.
The Colombians, who belong to the second group, are part of that selection of runners who come together to advance in the middle of a race made to surrender and press the red button, so it becomes more of a test of solidarity between them. On the sidelines, the counterpoint between the so-called meeting of the rich and the poor.
Nicolás Robledo, who will lead the fifth Dakar Rally, will be the main Colombian landmark in the race aboard his ATV, only this time he will do it in another category: that of 4 x 2 ATVs, in which there is a higher speed and those who fight for the title run, since he always played Competition 4 x 4 Quads. You have the opportunity to make a historic performance for the country.
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An Antioqueño who has spent several years of his life waiting for a call to practice the profession of commercial aircraft pilot. He never came and from one job to another he decided to set up his own event logistics company. Seven years ago they paid him a debt with an ATV and that’s where it all started. From a frustrated airplane pilot he became a devoted ATV pilot.
“I’m going for the first time in a Quad 4 x 2 where I thought I’d train all year. I have many lessons waiting for me, I will have to try it in the race and adapt. I just want to finish this Dakar in a Quad I don’t know “Robledo pointed out.
And in buggies, a fairly new category, there will be a Colombian duet: Javier Vélez and Mateo Moreno. The first will be the rider and will run his first Dakar Rally, while the second already has four participations in the motorcycle category and will be his co-driver. You will have the task of interpreting the maps, indicating where the vehicle should be moving and repairing them.
“In the middle of 2020 Javier called me and asked me to participate in Dakar. How are we? Physically very bad, because Nicolás Robledo only eats ice cream and donuts … and I stuck to all the ice cream and donuts “Glumea Moreno. “We Colombians have helped a lot; We can no longer help Giordano, no matter what he needs at a distance “, he added.
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And that’s it Giordano Pacheco, who was to drive the third Dakar on his KTM 450 Replica motorcycle in the Originals category, where there is no technical assistance, apologizing for the Dakar’s roots and purism, as well as for the lack of large structures, he had to leave the competition at the last minute. The reason: coronavirus.
A very hard blow for him, because in November he suffered a serious accident that left him practically excluded from the race, but he had an unprecedented record and recovery that prepared him to participate.
“I have been preparing for Dakar all year. I also had an injury and I was able to take it, but unfortunately COVID-19 defeated me and the organization did not give me the consent to participate. I don’t know how I got it. And now I am left out, in a blocked Arabia, quarantined and alone“Said Pacheco with great disappointment, who in the last edition had a historic performance for the country, finishing in the tenth box in Malles Motos, a category that has no technical assistance.
The reality is that the most complicated Dakar that Colombians drive is the one that happens behind the scenes: get the resources and sponsorship to run. A process that lasts all year, due to the lack of support and the reduced tradition in the country.
The fourth Colombian in the race – who also has a Chilean heart, the country in which he has lived for almost fifteen years – will be John trejos, mounted on a Husqvarna 450 motorcycle that will carry the number 120. This will be his second Dakar Rally, as he was present in 2018, but withdrew due to a mechanical failure during the marathon stage in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
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And as for the rich, the main news is the return of Frenchman Sébastien Loeb to challenge the fifth Dakar. Nine times world champion of meetings will be driving a 4×4 prototype equipped with a nearly 400-horsepower V6 engine in the colors of Bahrain, after being second in 2017 and third in 2019. “We have to be thankful that we can at least run. “, are the sincere words of Nani Roma, winner of motorcycles (2004) and champion of cars in 2014, a category in which he also has two runners-up.
There will be other common names, such as the Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Mini), defender of the car title; Qatar Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota) and Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini), the man who holds the record for victories (thirteen) in Dakar.
On motorcycles, the American Rick Brabec (Honda) defends the title against men such as the Australian Toby Price (Red Bull / KTM) and the Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna).
Thus, in the midst of a social and health crisis due to questions about human rights violations and pandemic problems, Dakar begins in Saudi Arabia.