“It was the hardest Dakar in Arabia, but also the most beautiful”
MADRID, 4 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish driver Laia Sanz (Astara) is clear that, after reaching her “ceiling in motorcycles” with a ninth place in the 2015 Dakar Rally, she still “has not reached it by a long shot” in cars, which is why she dreams of competing in a official team with a T1+, since it has “demonstrated” that it is “regular” in a test that in 2024 saw its “toughest edition in Saudi Arabia, but also the most beautiful.”
“It was the hardest Dakar in Arabia, but also the most beautiful. I missed a Dakar like that, I loved it, the concept of the 48 hours (marathon stage), of being there really alone, a little more survival than the last few years, with such hard and long stages, I have loved it,” Sanz insisted in an interview with Europa Press.
For the veteran driver, “the first three (Dakar) in Arabia were 'lighter'”, because “they were faster”, something that goes against the essence of the race. “A Dakar should be a race where if you lose ten minutes, you're not out of the fight with whoever. It doesn't have to be just running, it also has to be survival, sailing, taking care of the mechanics,” she said.
One of the new features of this edition, which Sanz “delighted”, was the 48-hour marathon stage. “There it was you, your co-driver, your car and whatever you have on you, that's why you have to manage. It's true, it's the worst day for something to happen to you, but I liked it. You have to congratulate ASO because logistically it was complicated, Going down to the 'Empty Quarter' is a great job, it is very isolated, but I would ask that it be repeated. It has returned to the essence of the Dakar,” he celebrated.
The 38-year-old Catalan made the most of her Astara again in 2024, completing a new Dakar Rally – there are now 14, she has always been a 'finisher' – and doing so in a creditable fifteenth place in the overall car standings. , above expectations, and third in its 4×2 category.
“At Astara we have all done a good job. We had a better car, the staff was also better, the mechanics were great, but obviously I would like, and I think we can, to have a T1+, we could put the car more Go ahead. I'm sure. We have shown that we are regular,” asked the one from Corbera de Llobregat.
Sanz believes that the time has come to get into a T1+ and fight with the best, after achieving a 15th position overall, ahead of favorites such as the two Audis of Mattias Ekstrom or Stéphane Peterhansel, or Nasser Al Attiyah, who abandonment. “I dream about that,” he admitted.
“We are on the right path, what depends on us we are doing well, I am trying to do everything I can. Sometimes there are also decisions that do not depend on you, but obviously I would like to, my goal would be to reach an official team, because it is where you can go out and attack much more, you do kilometers during the year, you do tests, you arrive knowing the car perfectly,” he explained.
And as an argument, Sanz proudly highlighted that “here in Spain no one” can boast of having finished all the Dakars they have started. “If I were an amateur who was going to finish alone, it would be easier. But we ended up going at a pace, because on a motorcycle we have done 7 or 8 'top 20', a 'top 10', several 'top 15',” she recalled. .
“And in the car, this year we have started to loosen up a little, but I think it has merit. My virtue is that I know myself well and I think I never exceed the limits, but I know where I can push, where I can't. Because when you race in a semi-private plan “You have to think that when you break the car, you have to pay the bills,” he added.
Another ingredient to also work in the car category is that, “in the third year, you start to know a little about how everything is going.” “The secret is to manage the problems as best as possible with the tools you have. On the days that we have been able to run, that we have been able to have 'clean' stages, we have done well and we have shown a very good pace,” thanked the Catalan.
“With work, with a lot of passion, because I love what I do, and with a desire to learn and humility. I left a comfortable position on a motorcycle, having a good contract, and went into the unknown. Many people wouldn't do it. It's starting from scratch, redoing the entire path, which is not easy, but in the end I have always liked to leave my comfort zone,” Sanz revealed.
And he does not hide that, although he has “enjoyed riding a motorcycle a lot”, his time on two wheels “has already passed.” “On a motorcycle you are alone, but sometimes it gives you even more satisfaction, now you share it with the co-pilot. In the car you have more security and you are a little more relaxed,” she argued.
Likewise, he highlighted the work of his co-pilot, the Italian Maurizio Gerini, with whom after three years he has “more confidence.” “But that makes you want to fry asparagus sometimes. But it is a healthy relationship, whoever says that there is not a moment of tension in the car is lying, there is a lot of tension, a lot of pressure, in the end we are people. But we have worked very well together,” he said.
For the Catalan, the world of motorcycles is “so difficult, so demanding”, that it would be “impossible” to return with high performance. “Now it would be difficult for me to make the top 25 because four years have passed. Age makes you see the danger more and injuries ultimately weigh down, my body is not the same as it was five or ten years ago,” he added, closing the doors to a return to motorcycle at a high level.
In addition, Sanz pointed out that his ninth place on motorcycles in the 2015 Dakar was his “ceiling” on two wheels. “My ceiling in a car has not reached anything close to it. That was the most I could aspire to on a motorcycle, but I don't have this feeling in cars, I need better tools and to train more, to have the same opportunities as others with whom you are fighting “, he reiterated about the option of driving a 4×4 in the future.
However, the pilot admits that, being “realistic”, “right now there are 5 or 6 guys who can win the Dakar and that's it.” “Obviously, there are people who can win stages, they can do a brilliant stage, but I think the rest are not at the level to win it. And I would say that what it means to win, win, maybe there are only 3 or 4 who can,” he said.