The Dakar Rally, one of the most traditional races in world motorsport, is about to start. The 45th edition of the competition, with a course of 8,549 kilometers (km), will be held between January 1st and 15th, 2023 and will feature the participation of 11 Brazilians, who will be in charge of nine vehicles. Among the Brazilian representatives is the current Sertões Rally champion, Lucas Moraes, who will drive the Toyota Hilux DKR IMT of the Belgian Overdrive Racing team in the main category, the T1+. “I can say with certainty that this year’s Dakar is a milestone in my career”, declared the Brazilian. “We are in the final stretch of our program for the Dakar, and I want to be as ready as possible to do a good race on the dunes, which are different terrain from those we are used to in Brazil. There will certainly be a learning curve, but we are pretty confident,” he declared. The two-time Dakar champion navigator among the Light Prototypes (UTVs manufactured specifically for competition), Gustavo Gugelmin, continues in his partnership with the North American Austin Jones who won him the title at the event in 2022. Two more Brazilian duos will compete in the Light Prototypes category : Pamela Bozzano and Carlos Sachs, and Enio Bozzano Júnior and Luciano Gomes. Pamela will be the first pilot from Brazil to compete in the race. As for the production UTVs (manufactured for normal use, but adapted for competition) Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira and Maykel Justo will be together, with Bruno Conti de Oliveira and Pedro Bianchi Prata forming another team and even Cristiano Batista and Fausto Mota acting as a duo. Brazil will also have Marcelo Medeiros in the Quadricycles category.
Agência Brasil
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