Renault-owned Romanian Dacia has pulled the sails from the car with which it wants to attack for victory in the toughest competition in the world in the next three years. It has a great charge!
The prototype for the Ultimate class, built in cooperation with Prodrive, was named Dacia Sandrider and was officially presented at a presentation in Paris by the director of the racing program, Denis Le Vot. The trio of pilots who will chase the winning Bedouin for the winner in the Sandriders desert competition have also been announced.
And they are all heavyweights – five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, world rally legend Sebastien Loeb and this year’s winner of the Challenger category Cristina Gutierrez. During the presentation, Dacia also revealed that it will not only focus on the Dakar next year, but will participate in the entire season of the World Rally Championship.
As director David Durand revealed, Dacia took into account the demands of its riders in the construction of the Sandrider. Auto Dacie retains the features of the existing Prodrive Hunter model, but is equipped with a new turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 that burns synthetic fuel. Prodrive helped Dacia find the ideal weight distribution, lower the center of gravity and introduce innovative systems, including a patented thermal management system that uses infrared pigment to reduce temperature. Dacia plans to bring the Sandrider to the UK market in April, although the first tests of the race car will not take place until June in Morocco. In October, Dacia will run the Rallye du Maroc in preparation for Dakar 2025.
According to Sebastien Loeb, a lot of attention is paid to the development of the car. “We discussed a lot about many things, but the main one was the view from the car, because sometimes we have trouble seeing where we are going. We tested a lot. I think it will be of great benefit.” Christina Gutierrez, in turn, designed magnetic plates to prevent the loss of metal parts during repairs in the desert.
The Sandrider has all-wheel drive, compared to the Hunter it has reinforced axles, a modified gearbox and improved brakes so that braking is more comfortable for the pilot and does not require as much force. The team manager will be Tiphanie Isnard, who gained a wealth of experience with Loeb and also won the Dakar with Stéphane Peterhansel. Philip Dunabin, who is also very experienced in distance competitions, will be the technical director.
2024-03-02 21:31:15
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