At last year’s Dakar, the buggy Laia Sanz (Corbera de Llobregat, 1985) did up to five flips in the dunes. Both she and her co-pilot, Maurizio Gerini, were unharmed, but the vehicle was destroyed. After ten minutes, they were already dismantling it to repair it as soon as possible. Some would have given up. Sanz did not do so, completing a new Dakar -has finished the 14 editions it has competed-. Now, he faces his third Dakar by car wanting to enjoy himself. Before leaving for Saudi Arabia and starting to run this Friday, he spoke to El Periódico de Catalunya, from the Prensa Ibérica group.
What objective do you set for this Dakar?
Every year they ask me if I want to be in the top-10, among the 15 best… After the bad taste in our mouths that we ended up with last year, the goal is to enjoy. That will mean that we are doing it well. If we enjoy we will be carrying our rhythm and we will go out where we have to. When you start to have problems and you start from behind you find that the track is destroyed, you have to pass a lot of people, there is a lot of dust and everything gets complicated.
Last year many would have given up with all the problems you had.
Now I’m grateful to have finished, at that time a lot of people would have gone home, yes. After the accident in the fifth stage, we were a little groggy for 10 minutes and when we recovered we began to dismantle the car so that when assistance arrived we could reassemble it and arrive at the cutoff on time. Last year’s Dakar was very tough on a psychological level, it became difficult for us from the second day. Running out of options so soon and leaving so far behind doesn’t let you enjoy yourself. This year, if we have cleaner stages we can show that we can be fast.
For this Dakar they are launching a new car, with better features. How did you feel in the vehicle?
This car has a smaller engine and is lower down, and that makes the car’s behavior improve. We have also improved visibility and in the tests we did in Morocco we felt very good. The car is spectacular in fast areas, when you are crossing dunes that are not very complicated. When the dunes get complicated we will suffer more, we will have to face these stages in survival mode, trying not to waste too much time. The car’s strong point is in the fast and broken stages, there we will try to push as hard as possible.
????????Let’s go for the 14th @Dakar????????I really want to get to Saudi Arabia and get behind the wheel of the Astara 02 Concept. Thanks as always to all the people who support me, including you. Have a happy New Year’s Eve! It will be our turn to celebrate the end of the year in full ✈️
????????????????+[CAT] pic.twitter.com/Fvc0soybWA— Laia Sanz (@LaiaSanz_) December 31, 2023
Is it better to try to have a sustained rhythm and not push too hard to avoid mechanical problems or accidents?
To do well in the Dakar you have to push, the level of cars and drivers is very high. In recent years, the test has changed a lot, before there were still two stages where you ran a lot and the other days you had to do it. Now there is a lot of level, either you run or you can’t be ahead.
You explained on some occasion that with an unofficial motorcycle it is possible to demonstrate your quality and that with a car, if you do not have the opportunity to have a T1+, it is much more difficult to stand out and be on top.
Not only because of the car itself but also because of the means those at the top have to train all year round. It is difficult to compete with these people, but I think we can compensate for this lack of kilometers that we would like to have with the experience that we both have in the race. In the end, every year on a motorcycle is also useful and positive. We want to take baby steps. Let’s see if we can do a good job in the general classification and next year, improve it.
“Not only do I not earn a living from the Dakar, but it is also difficult for me to cover the costs”
Why haven’t you been given the chance to drive a T1+ yet?
Because it’s worth a lot of money. The Dakar by car is worth ten times more than by motorcycle, and it is not easy to get the opportunity. Right now there are two young drivers in an official car, but it hasn’t happened for many years. There are few seats and in most of them there are established pilots and it is very difficult to fight for their place. And, of course, if you don’t have the same means it’s hard to prove that you can be there, so either you have a lot of money or it’s complicated. I’m at that impasse, perhaps in my case it will have to be slower than others, but I will keep trying. If I didn’t believe in myself I wouldn’t try. On the motorcycle it already cost me a lot, but I managed it.
For this edition there are 46 women pilots, 6%. It’s still a low number, but in 2011…
Maybe there were five or six of us… A lot has changed. Before it was a weirdo in the Dakar and now it is seen as a normal thing, There are more and more of us, and not just pilots. There are more and more co-pilots, mechanics, engineers; women in jobs that were traditionally men’s. Everything is changing and it is changing fast. There are also two or three Saudi women piloting. This was unthinkable.
In the Astara team there are two women driving, Patricia Pita and you. She explained that you have been her reference, you will not be the only one.
It is true that in some way I will have helped, especially some of the younger ones. It’s very nice to see that there is another woman in my team and that there are so many girls in the Dakar. Jutta Kleinschmidt and Andrea Mayer also helped me, because they were there and they make you see that it is possible. Of course, there is still much to do.
The Dakar event remains unavoidable for you. Has the move to four wheels given you extra motivation?
With the bike I felt like I had reached my limit. The last few years on a motorcycle it was difficult to always maintain full motivation. After making a top 10 I felt like I had done everything. That’s why I made the change, I felt that that stage was over and I needed new motivation and new goals. In cars I’m still a ‘rookie’, I have a whole world to discover. It is my third year, yes, but I have only a few kilometers and I have a lot of growing to do.
A man could retire and live in peace with everything he has won (20 world titles between enduro and trials).
Probably. But it’s not my case. And not only that. Many people are amazed when I explain that it is very difficult to get the budget to run the Dakar. Not only do I not earn a living from the Dakar, but it is difficult for me to cover the costs and I spend the whole year working for it. People see you on TV and think that everything is very nice and easy, but it is not like that. After everything I have done, proving that I am a professional and having always finished every Dakar, sometimes I feel a little frustrated, I really want to prove it, but I need the means to achieve it.
2024-01-03 07:11:59
#Laia #Sanz #weirdo #Dakar #woman #normal
