Laia Sanz excited about new Astara team car for Dakar 2024

he astara team This Wednesday, he announced an exciting project. Dakar 2024where they will compete again in the automotive sector Laia Sanz and Maurizio Gerini As the pillar of the group Oscar Fuertes He will no longer be at the wheel directing everything from the field, and new staff will be added.Initialization The Astara team has 100% women behind the wheel. In addition to Lia Sanzanother vehicle steers it patricia pitathe first Uruguayan to compete in the Dakar and the second time together with navigator Paolo Boggini.

Laia Sanz and Patrizia Pita will be preparing new cars for the world’s toughest race in 2024, which kicks off in January next year and will feature a 60% new route. Astara 02 conceptthis represents the progress of the Spanish team.

“We are very happy. This is an important step in the two-wheel drive category. We are releasing a lot and we will be more competitive than ever. This is a very light car, It’s the lightest in its category, has increased autonomy, and has significant changes such as the move from a V8 engine to a BiTurbo V6, which is more compact and smaller, runs faster, and keeps everything going. It is better because it can be stored in a lower position. Car performance is much better. Laia told me that she was very happy when she rode in the car for the first time. That’s great because she’s very critical. ”Oscar Fuertes commented with a laugh:

Laia is excited about her new car

“The engine is lower and weighs less, so the car behaves better. It behaves better and the suspension is also much better. And we reduce consumption, which is what matters in the end. . And visibility is better, which seems like a silly thing, but it’s important in the dunes. That was one of the weaknesses of the car, but we have improved in that sense this year. These are small steps that we are taking and the goal is to take steps in terms of results, stages and the end of the Dakar as well. ”said a very motivated Laia Sanz.

Laia has completed 11 of the 11 Dakar Rally races on a motorcycle, making this his third appearance in the Dakar Rally by car and 14th time in total. 13 out of 13 points Don’t give up and leave that “cursed number” nowI will always remember the tremendous difficulties I had to face last year to achieve my goal and am starting to think about my 14th participation in the Dakar, which I consider very exciting.

“What if there is a Laia that hasn’t been released yet? Of course. Of course. I’m a novice when it comes to cars. I have completed the Dakar 14 times, but this will be my third time in a car. Much remains to be learned.It’s true that I’ve improved a lot over the past three years, thanks in part to Extreme E, but there are still a lot of issues to overcome, and in reality, when I was able to run last year, I was at a good pace.but we wait,This year we will be able to finish a good stage, have a good Dakar, do a good job and race intelligently. Let’s see if we can have good days and of course in the end we can have good Dakar too,” commented Laia.

“We’ve finally left behind the number 13, which didn’t bring us much luck last year. I’m really looking forward to this new Dakar.”he added, recalling the many problems he suffered last year and finished the 2023 Dakar in 32nd place in T1 and 65th in the overall vehicle standings.

“I think if we overcome a complicated Dakar like last year, we will become stronger in the end. You have to gain experience with everything you learn. Also, he had two final choices with Gerini. Either it ends hopelessly to the point of death, or it makes us more united. And that was the second case. We knew how to bounce back from all the challenges and the team has also made a huge effort to be able to go out every day, so I’m looking forward to that. With the new car we have taken a step forward in terms of technology,” the Catalan emphasized.

“I have a lot of motivation and I want to get rid of last year’s thorns. We knew we were fast, the car works very well and I want to be there,” said Laia, heading into his 14th year. – Sanz concluded. 1st place out of 14, and most importantly, you deserve to take a step forward to prove your talent and finally be given an official T1+ (top category) opportunity.