The 48th edition of the Dakar Rally will start in Yanbu on January 3. The cars include several big names, including five-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, four-time winner Carlos Sainz senior and nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb. However, the list of participants also includes names that are much less known. This lesser-known group includes Mark Mustermann, who is appearing at the start of the desert rally for the first time in a Toyota Hilux T1+ from MM Rallye. Yet this unknown name may turn out to be the biggest name to participate in the 2026 edition of Dakar.
The Austrian newspaper Small newspaper reports that behind the alias Mark Mustermann lies a completely different person. This concerns 33-year-old Austrian Mark Mateschitz, who is also known as the co-owner of Red Bull, the son of founder Dietrich Mateschitz and the 38th richest person in the world. Mateschitz’s date of birth corresponds to the date of birth stated for Mustermann on the Dakar Rally website. There you can also read that Mateschitz himself gets behind the wheel of the Toyota Hilux and that he is supported by navigator Michael Zajc. The pair are not completely inexperienced: earlier this year they already completed three Baja’s in Italy, Greece and Spain, as well as the World Rally-Raid Championship events in Portugal and Morocco.
Mateschitz also appears to be not the only well-known Austrian who has registered for the Dakar Rally. Victoria Swarovski, the heiress of the crystal glass maker, is also participating in the rally raid in Saudi Arabia. Swarovski, who forms a couple with Mateschitz, has also registered with a pseudonym: Vic Flip. The 32-year-old Austrian will appear at the start of the Dakar with a Can-Am Maverick R from MM Rallye. Stefan Henken takes her place as navigator. It is not a huge surprise that Swarovski is participating in the rally raid. Last summer she revealed in an interview with RTL that she was preparing for her debut in the desert rally.
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