Sébastien Loeb (right) and Fabien Lucan (left) on the final podium of the 2024 Dakar Rally
The 2024 Dakar Rally was one of the biggest motorsport challenges Prodrive has undertaken in its 40-year history. 44 people from the UK headquarters in Banbury will support the two entries of Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah, with a further 14 supporting Prodrive Rally Raid partner teams X Rally Team (Brazil) and Yunshan China. did.
A total of seven Prodrive Hunter cars competed in the new Ultimate class of the 46th Dakar Rally for the fifth time in Saudi Arabia, covering over 4,700 kilometers of special stages and a total distance of approximately 8,000 kilometers. The event was the ultimate test for all participants and spanned the past two weeks from the ancient city of AlUla in the north to the open sea of sand dunes.
Sébastien Loeb and co-driver Fabien Lucan took their fifth stage win of the event on the final stage 12, making it Prodrive’s third consecutive podium since its first Dakar appearance in 2021.
Prodrive Hunter challengers Christian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti (X Rally Team) and Ji Yunguang/Pang Hong Yu (Yunshan China Team) competed in the closing race in Yanbu last Friday afternoon. He completed an epic marathon that earned him a finisher medal at the ceremony.
Reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, along with co-driver Mathieu Baumel, was aiming for his sixth Dakar victory in the Nasser Racing by Prodrive race, but with the stage win he brings his total number of Dakar stage wins to 48. Despite this, the announcement was made prematurely. Retired on the 10th day of the event.
Sebastien Loeb, Bahrain Raid Extreme (3rd overall)
“I’m certainly happy to be on the podium. I wanted to fight for the win after 15 days, but the Dakar always surprises me, so I lost chances here and there. I thought I’d go home after the 11th stage. But we went back to the rally and fought for the podium again. We have no regrets, we worked hard and it was great to be on the finish line at the end and on the podium again. .”
Beko Andreotti, X Rally Team
“The Dakar is a marathon event where everyone can perform to the best of their ability. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot of very important things. Our main goal in participating in the Dakar is to run faster. And it was a great pleasure to be here. With the support of the Prodrive engineers and mechanics within our own team. , it was a really fun mix.
Unfortunately Marco [Baumgart] and Kleber [Cinea] They didn’t finish in Hunter, but it’s a race. Good days and bad days can come at a moment’s notice, so I’m very happy to have finished 8th overall in the FIA World Rally Raid Championship. This is a better ranking than we expected at this stage. Thank you again to everyone at Prodrive. ”
Ka Chun Yu, YunXiang China Team Manager
“It was a good event for Yunshan Racing as it was our first time coming to Dakar. One out of three cars finished the race, which was a very good result, and it was a very good experience. We look forward to working with them on other rally events, but we’re very happy to be joining their large Rally Raid family. We’ll definitely continue with the next Dakar! Hunters will have the best cars I believe this is very important. It is very fast and easy to drive. Drivers should be trained to be more careful in such difficult events and avoid collisions. But this It’s the Dakar, it’s the biggest rally in the world, it’s the most difficult rally in the world, and personally it was my 13th Dakar so I really enjoyed it, but in my opinion it’s the best event. , held in the best car I have attended in years.”
Gus Vettelli, Prodrive Rally Raid Team Principal
“What a way to end the 2024 Dakar. We fought until the end, winning five of the 12 stages and leaving nothing behind. We have to be satisfied with the overall result. [Loeb] and Fabian [Lurquin] The BRX team finished on the podium for the third year in a row, and the X Rally team finished the event with Cristian. [Baumgart] and beko [Andreotti] They are in 8th place in the championship, with their newest partner Yunxiang China finishing their first event in Prodrive Hunter, but Nasser and Mathieu also finished, making them unable to make it to the fourth of the four teams. It’s a shame. We have an exciting year ahead of us at Prodrive and are looking forward to returning to Dakar next year. ”
David Richards, Chairman of Prodrive
“It will be special for Prodrive to arrive at the Dakar with seven cars. It was an extraordinary team effort just to get to the start line, but we had some unfortunate problems with a few cars. It is a great achievement for everyone that they were able to continue running throughout the event just by doing so.
It’s impossible to explain to people how challenging, demanding and extraordinary this event is unless you’ve been here and experienced it. It’s been a tough job for the team here, who have been working day and night for the past two weeks. In terms of winning motorsport events, the Dakar is still the last mountain we have to climb and I think we need to come back next year to do that. ”
-end-
For more information, please contact us below.
media@prodrive.com
+44 (0) 1295 273355
About Prodrive
Prodrive is one of the world’s largest and most successful motorsports and technology businesses. He employs over 500 staff across its Bunbury headquarters and composites manufacturing facility in Milton Keynes. Although the company is perhaps best known for its motorsport, it is now just part of an organization that has diversified over the past decade into a technology business that operates in a variety of sectors and offers a variety of services. Within the Prodrive Group, there are four distinct but interconnected business areas. Motorsport, running race and rally programs for car manufacturers and global brands; Advanced technology. We provide innovative technologies for the automotive, aerospace, defense and marine sectors. Develops lightweight composite parts for composite materials, automotive, aerospace and marine applications. Brand & develops bespoke clothing and accessories from leading brands.
www.prodrive.com