Isidre Esteve debuts his new sport project at Morocco Rally

Isidore Esteve Begins an important phase of his sports career this Saturday Morocco Rally 2022an appointment to mark his debut at the wheel of Toyota’s new weapon, the Toyota Hilux T1+ Repsol Toyota Rally Team.

Fresh off a test day on Moroccan soil, the Spanish driver has started his preparations for Dakar 2023 at this competition, with the mission of coordinating his and co-driver Txema Villalobos’ adaptation to the new vehicle. of the highest category of learning.

Esteve makes its debut in competition with Specialty’s new elite vehicle, the Toyota Hilux T1+.

The Moroccan test divides 1,516 clocked kilometers into six stages, largely replicating the challenges that lie ahead at the 2023 Dakar.

“The goal is to get to January with the ability to go as fast as the new car will allow from the first kilometer,” said the Oriana driver.

At this week’s test at Erg Chebbi (Morocco), Esteve was able to confirm the leap the Hilux T1+ will bring to him and the Repsol Toyota Rally Team.

“It is good in all respects, but especially on hard courts and broken areas.So the same roads that previously slowed you down are now moving forward with maximum power and incredible levels of safety. Another aspect that has seen decisive improvements is regarding punctures. Due to the large diameter of the wheels on this car, the risk of punctures is very low and you can overcome areas full of stones, ”he commented.

2022 will be Isidre Esteve’s fourth participation in Morocco by car. 9th in 2018, 12th in 2019 and last time 11th overall (8th in T1), the man from Lleida starts a new attempt with a goal beyond a certain finish.

“The biggest challenge is to keep discovering the car, gaining confidence and finding its limits. Both me and Txema are involved in this. Because the faster you go, the faster everything and the faster your navigation points. Ultimately, each phase of competition or testing becomes important in an adaptation process as intense as we have begun. We want to get there in January,” explains Esteve.

The Morocco Rally kicks off this Saturday in Agadir, a town located on the southern Atlantic coast of the country. The test takes him south over six days, passing through Tintin and El Aaiun before returning to Agadir again.

In total, participants will complete 2,233 kilometers, 1,506 of which will be completed without a time limit. The first nine arrive on Saturday in the prologue of testing. This will be the appetizer before his five remaining competition stages, averaging 300 kilometers per day.