Nani Roma returns to Dakar after cancer: “I had to keep applauding the medical workers at 8 o’clock every day”

In March 2022, Nani Roma (February 17, 1972, Folgerols) was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He is the only Spanish driver to have won the Dakar in the car category (2014) and the motorcycle category (2004, the first Spaniard to win the African race at the time), and has competed in the Dakar 26 times. was participating. He is seen by his fans as a superhero who can win the most dangerous desert matches, risking his life with a car, and above all with a motorcycle. Since 1998, Nani Roma has consistently participated in the toughest events on the planet. But in 2023, after playing the most important match of his life, he was forced to sit out. He won, and then the must-see train arrived. It is Ford’s official 2024 Dakar project, and is a long-term project starting in 2025 with the first year of learning how to build a winning car.

Nani Roma will compete in his 27th Dakar from January 2024, which will mark 20 years since his victory in a car and 10 years since his victory on two wheels. Malcolm Wilson, the legendary boss of the M-Sport rally organization, called to say Nani had made a full recovery, and Nani thought this was the last “shot” of energy that would be key to getting back to his old life. ing. This Friday, Nani, along with co-driver Alex Haro, admitted at the presentation of the Ford project for Dakar 2024 that he does not think he will race again. For this reason, he wanted to thank Ford for his blind faith and for not having any doubts that Nani would return to the highest level after the toughest battle.

“The first practice was very difficult. This left you physically far away from where you had been. The whole process of chemotherapy, the surgery, was something you had to live with honestly. It’s a thing. We all have suffered from this disease, or have someone we know who has. But it’s something you can never imagine until you’ve actually suffered from it, and it’s very complicated. And you… It remains very low. It took me quite a while to train well again and recover well every day. I did it. But I also believe that projects like this help you fully recover and recover well. I think it’s a shot of energy when someone like Malcolm (Wilson) comes in and calls you to lean on him for a project like this, because he thought his career was over, not his life, and Because it’s true that you thought you would do something else. And it’s unbelievable that they have you again, ”said Nani Roma excitedly. But he became even more agitated when his friend Dr. Xavier Mir tried to interrupt his press conference to give an important explanation.

“If you’ll excuse me, may I interrupt you for a moment? You know that I’m a traumatologist, but I’d like to be a little more specific. Because what I always say is, Because Nani is a special case. He had to fight a very serious illness, so the thought of competing at this level was unthinkable. All the doctors and tumors in Val de Hebron Scholars thought that was unthinkable. And here it is,” he said.

“I wanted to convey that it was understood that this was not a broken femur or a broken wrist,” Mill continued. “It’s a serious disease that affects your body, and the effort he put in to get here is very important. And even I’m surprised. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Well, it wasn’t that bad.’ may be interpreted. That’s not reality. It was difficult but you did your best The doctor’s treatment worked, the medicine worked, and his body looks like a professional athlete… But the message is, I’m not here because it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s been tough for him, but he’s still here.”said the famous doctor in front of the applause of the press.

In this sense, Nani said that during the important nine-day test in Morocco, Ford Ranger T1+ Drive with it to improve performance, comfort and make your car more robust. Nani was first concerned about his condition and whether he would be able to withstand the level of physical demands required of the Dakar.

“The reality is I have to thank Ford and the Wilson family[at M-Sport]because they never doubted anything about me because of what I’ve been through. When I arrived in Morocco for the test, I was actually like, “Well, let’s see how I’m doing. Let’s see how it reacts. We started a long test of 500 kilometers, There was a problem with the air conditioner and we went without air for 4 days. I used my body to its limits. And on a personal level, I was very calm. Then continue operating the car until the moment it comes to a stop. “It didn’t mean anything more,” he said.

Requests and gratitude to medical workers

Nani wanted to thank Ford and M-Sport for the opportunity during a very difficult time in his life. But most of all, his best message was dedicated to and affirmed the importance of healthcare workers.

“I am grateful for my life in the sports world. Despite my illness, I have applied what I am doing to prepare for my career. This is Dr. Mir. does not, but his colleagues do. And they were surprised in a way, I thought it was a little unconscious to try to treat something like that the way he did. But I took it as if I was preparing for a career. “I wanted to learn from the experts because I have a lot to thank the doctors at Vall de Hebron Hospital.”commented.

“Generally, we It’s a very complex system, and it’s people like doctors and nurses who endure it. It is very important to make clear that I have been as fortunate as I have been because of the people who have spent many hours saving lives and caring for us. You must clap every day at 8pm. Same as with Covid-19 (for healthcare workers). That’s how I should be. Because what these people do professionally is outrageous, and what they do is not easy. “I would like to thank you,” he concluded.

2024 Dakar Goals

Ford made his debut in a World Cup event at the last Morocco Rally, scoring his first podium and Nani third, but the Catalan admits that his main goal is not to seek results. I wanted to clarify. It is logical to think that Nani Roma can aim for a podium in the Dakar. It is in the experienced hands of his great co-pilot, “Denna’s Compass” Alex Haro. It’s also because Ford is a great brand. But he made it clear that the aim of this first course was to learn as much as possible in preparation for building a Dakar 2025 car that is “completely new and has nothing to do with the current one”. did.

This year, Nani focused on making the car as robust and reliable as possible, and the whole team has a lot of experience in rallying but not in raiding, and everything about discipline and the car in this race. I learned about the needs of The improvements to the current Ford Raptor were notable. It’s not the fastest, but it’s very robust. That meant he had fewer problems in Morocco and was able to finish on the podium. And that will be his strength at the 2023 Dakar, where Nani Roma will once again be smiling more than ever. After the toughest race of his life, he will once again face the Dakar.