Regardless of ending runner-up within the T5 class on the season-opening Dakar Rally, Martin Macíok Jr. is not going to participate within the upcoming World Rally-Raid Championship spherical, the Abu Dhabi Desert Problem, as he and his MM Know-how group proceed to develop their vans. He intends to return for the following race on the Rallye du Maroc.
The group, together with different Dakar rivals, lately acquired their autos in Marseilles following impounding by race organisers earlier than they might be shipped again to their unique homeowners. MM had two IVECO PowerStar vans nicknamed “Charles” and “Cenda”, with Macíok operating the Rally within the latter. Macíok led the T5 rivals in stage wins with 4 (Levels #1, #4, #8, #13, plus the Prologue) however brake failures in Stage #2 ruined his probabilities on the total victory and he completed second to Janus van Kasteren by 1:14:34.
Charles shall be used on the Morocco Desert Problem, a non-W2RC occasion scheduled for 21–30 April, whereas Cenda shall be disassembled for R&D functions. Charles was beforehand pushed by Macíok to a few stage victories on the 2021 Dakar Rally.
“All autos are again from the port, this yr it didn’t take lengthy, and we’re already getting ready plans for the upcoming season,” Macíok acknowledged in a video posted Thursday. “Charles will go to the Morocco Desert Problem along with his new group and MM Know-how and supply assist. Cenda shall be taken aside. We’ll do some upgrades that we got here up with in the course of the Dakar, we wish to begin testing as quickly as potential, after which we could have testing in Africa. We gained’t take part within the Abu Dhabi Desert Problem, the second spherical of W2RC, however we are going to do the third spherical at Rallye du Maroc. We shall be very often in Morcco.
“These are our plans for the yr. We can even go to Spain, we are going to follow, we are going to organise Dakar Obsessed Open Air, however now we have now Dakar Obsessed discuss exhibits. There’s a lot to look ahead.”
Van Kasteren, the primary IVECO driver to win at Dakar since 2016, leads the T5 W2RC standings with 113 factors to Macíok’s 102. Macíok had additionally skipped Abu Dhabi in 2022; regardless of successful the category in each of his W2RC begins at Dakar and Morocco, he completed second within the championship to Kees Koolen by twenty-six factors. In contrast to its different four-wheeled counterparts, the vans don’t run each leg of the W2RC.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Problem is scheduled for 25 February – 3 March. The Rallye du Maroc on 12–18 October will function the season finale.
