Dakar Rally 2023: Czechs will compete in all categories, Prokop wants to attack the top five!

The forty-fifth edition of the Dakar Rally is finally here. All competitors will head to Saudi Arabia for the fourth time in history, with the opening 15km prologue starting today, 31 December. The Czech competitors then took all the categories.

45. the Dakar Rally starts on 31 December, with a really big Czech participation. This year’s edition will have two more stages than last year’s and according to the organisers, the most difficult route awaits the drivers.

During the rally, the competitors will also head to the fourth largest desert in the world, Rub al-Khali, known as the Desolate Land.

This year’s Dakar Rally will kick off on Saturday New Year’s Eve at Sea Camp (on the shores of the Red Sea), before finishing on January 15 on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf city of Dammam.

The Czech Republic’s best hopes

So which Czechs will be taking part in the Dakar Rally? Among the biggest stars will surely be Martin Michek, who will be the Czech number one motorcyclist. His best result to date is tenth place in 2021.

Milan Engel finished 15th in 2019 and his ambitions for the 45th edition will be high. Jan Brabec or David Pabiska will be the next motorcycle hopefuls.

Among the cars, the Czech leader will be Martin Prokop, whose best result was sixth place in 2019, and he is said to want to fight for the top five this year.

As for the quads, Zdeněk Tůma, who finished fourth last year, had an excellent result. And just like last year, Josef Macháček will also take part in the Dakar Rally with his buggy.

Traditionally, the truck category will have a large Czech representation. Martin Macík achieved his best result in 2021, finishing fourth. Martin Šoltys, Jaroslav Valtr st. and Aleiš Loprais will also try to get the best result.

This year, the trucks will be missing the Russian Kamaz drivers who have dominated the last six editions of the Dakar Rally. The motivation of other teams will be huge.

However, the Dakar Rally will offer plenty of other stars. Sam Sunderland will be defending last year’s victory among the motorcyclists, while Qatari driver Nasser Attiyah dominated the car category. And the big stars of world rallying – Sébastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz – will also be in attendance.

Sources