KH-7 pilots ready for Dakar 2024

The countdown to the Dakar Rally has begun. With 18 days left until the start of the race on January 5th, the KH-7 gathered its pilots from the ancient city of AlUla before setting off on its adventure to Saudi Arabia. The leading Spanish brand of kitchen detergents will support its brand ambassadors who will take part in the next edition of this iconic test in vehicles equipped with different energy and alternative fuels.

Laia Sanz, Isidore Esteve and the members of the KH-7 ECOVERGY team, Jordi Giubanteny, José Luis Criado and Xavier Rivas, took the opportunity to present the main focus of their respective sports projects. What the three teams supported by KH-7 have in common is a commitment to zero emissions. The Dakar adventure is thus linked to his KH-7 business strategy, which has been committed to sustainability standards for many years. Without going any further, the brand’s product’s iconic packaging is now fully recyclable.

“With our commitment to sustainability, this year we developed a pigment-free translucent container that is 100% recyclable, uses 22.5% less plastic, and weighs just 28 grams, making it the best on the market. It’s a lightweight bottle,” he says. , President of KH Joreda. “It is very satisfying that the three teams we support in Dakar share this concern for sustainable development in all areas of motorsport, especially in Dakar.”

Laia Sanz, 3rd attack on 4 wheeler

The 2024 Dakar Rally will be Laia Sanz’s 14th participation and third time on a four-wheeled vehicle, following a successful career on two wheels. The 20-time trial (14) and enduro (6-time) world champion led and demonstrated for a good part of the season before finishing runner-up in Extreme E, along with Matthias Ekström, who knew almost nothing. He has just returned from Chile, where he won the championship. Great form behind the wheel. He will participate in this Dakar Rally in a buggy belonging to the Astara Evolution Team, and hopes to compete for the T1.2 category (two-wheel drive) with his co-pilot, Italian Maurizio Gerini. It is a project with a mission to generate a completely neutral carbon footprint.

“Companies like the Astara team and KH-7 are very concerned about environmental considerations, and motorsport in general, like what we are doing in the Dakar with this synthetic fuel, I think we’re taking a big step forward in this regard,” says Laia Sanz. “It’s about leaving the smallest possible footprint. Society is changing and the future of motorsport depends on caring for the environment.”

Isidore Esteve’s endless challenges

Isidore Esteve will take to the start line for the 19th time in motorsport’s toughest race. The ninth time he will compete in a passenger car, and the second time he will compete in the new Toyota Hilux T1+, sharing the adventure with his co-driver. Chema Villalobos. Oriana’s (Lleida) car will be tested once again to make it as competitive as possible with the modified car, with which he will fight for a top 20 finish, surpassing the 21 achieved in 2018 and 2019. I hope to surpass that rank. Additionally, he plans to use 70% renewable fuel developed by Repsol to reduce emissions.

“Motorsport cannot ignore its big goal of becoming more sustainable. It is impossible for society to go in one direction and the world of competition to go in another,” Isidore Esteve asserts. Masu. “We have been working on this project with Repsol for over two years. Our goal is zero emissions. At the moment we have a fuel with low emissions that allows us to remain competitive. We’re all in this together, and we’re proud to contribute directly to this change.”

Hydrogen pioneers Juventeny, Criado, Rivas

Jordi Hubanteny and José Luis Criado have participated in the Dakar more than 63 times. The Catalan pilot has won 31 times, and the co-pilot of Jaén, the Spaniard who took part in the Queen of Raid the most times, has won 32 times. They have been through three eras of his career together, from his early years in Africa to Saudi Arabia and several years in South America. His third crew member in the cabin is Xavi Rivas. He is responsible for the innovative technology that enables Juventeny’s veteran MAN 6×6 to use hydrogen/HVO mixtures (renewable diesel from single-use oil) as fuel. This iconic truck has his 17th victory in 6×6 and his 4th in production. The most recent one was 6×6 in 2022 (although there was no formal classification in the category this year), whose engines already used LPG (liquefied gas) and Repsol eco-fuel, and 6×6 and Production in both sections in 2021. In 2024, it will join the new Mission 1000 category, which focuses on alternative energy sources.

“This is the third year of this project and we are becoming more and more courageous as we fully participate in the future. The carbon footprint of our trucks will be virtually zero. We want to show that there is another way to race, another way to participate,” says Jose Luis Criado. Driver Jordi Giubanteny added: “The Dakar is a test bed to test this innovative mechanism and see if it can be transferred to the conventional world. This is a big challenge. If you can make it work, it will work in your everyday life.”

Dakar 2024 is the 46th edition of this legendary race and the fifth time it has been held in Saudi Arabia. The total route is approximately 8,000 kilometers and includes approximately 5,000 timings on a variety of terrain (track, sand, dunes, stones, etc.) to test the performance and durability of the vehicles and their drivers. The experiment will end on January 19th in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.