Carlos Sainz returns in 2025 with the intention of matching Nasser Al-Attiyah with a fifth different manufacturer, this time with the new Ford Raptor T1+. He will draw on a wealth of experience to complete the route which covers 7,759 kilometers spread over 12 timed stages from Bisha to the Empty Quarter desert.
« Obviously, as I got older, I had to adapt my training program. I work with a team of professionals and they know me very well, declares the Madrilenian in comments relayed by RACER. The reality is that I work on fitness a lot more than I did when I was younger. Today, I spend more time on the aerobic part of my preparation. I always say that I prefer to suffer at home, so as not to suffer as much at the Dakar. »
In 2024, The Matadoraccompanied by his teammate Lucas Cruz, had used all his experience to win the general classification without winning once on a stage. “ To win the Dakar, you have to have a good strategy and be faster than the others, adds Sainz. In 2024, the rally went well for us. The 48-hour stage was strategically important. We had decided not to start at the head of this stage and, as a result, we lost time the day before. »
The importance of the 48 hour stage
« So we had a good starting position and we won the first part of the 48 hour stage, continues the Spaniard. In the second part we got stuck in the dunes and lost a few minutes. Sébastien Loeb ultimately won the stage, but we were not far behind, in second position. The rest was quite tricky, lots of high speeds and difficult stages. We fought well with Seb until the penultimate stage. »
This famous 48-hour stage, inaugurated during the previous edition, will once again be there from January 5 and 6 with 1,057 km including 965 of special to cover over two days, everyone having to stop at 5 p.m. on January 5 before leaving the next morning.
« The 48-hour stage is now a crucial moment of the Dakar, juge Carlos Sainz. That’s two days without any support from your team. You sleep in a tent in the desert and it depends on your speed where you end up sleeping and who else is there. In 2025, it’s very early in the rally, basically the second day. It will be very important to get it right, especially for us with a new car. »
See you on January 3 for the start of the Dakar 2025, which will be followed every day on AUTOhebdo.fr and our social networks.
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