For those who are not familiar with the Dakar Rally, this annual off-road endurance event has been dubbed the world's toughest motor race and sees its competitors traverse across tough terrains in true off-road vehicles.
Now held in South America, each stage of the race can cover distances of up to 900 kilometres per day across terrains including dunes, mud, rocks, camel grass and erg.
Among those competing in this year's race is British driver Harry Hunt. Born and raised in London, Harry comes from a family of motorsport enthusiasts and learnt how to ride a motorbike and a quad bike on a farm when he was only 6 years old. The mix of off road rallying and adventure at Dakar ticks all the boxes for Harry.
We asked Harry to tell us about his car, his navigator and what we can expect from the world's toughest motor race...
As bastions of British engineering, we are interested to know about the engineering of your car. What is special about it and how it has been adapted for the rally?
My car is a Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi based on a Peugeot 3008 road car although not a huge amount has been transferred across. The engine is a diesel 3.0litre V6 and weights 1800kgs. The body panels are 100% carbon fibre.
Tell us about your navigator and how you became partners for the Dakar rally.
My navigator is Wouter Rosegaar, he is Dutch and an extremely well respected navigator with huge amounts of experience. I think he’s done Dakar 12 times and he is only 35 years old.
What are the biggest challenges you are likely to face?
This years Dakar rally is held in Peru and 7 of the 10 days will be mainly crossing the sand dunes. Sand dunes are very tricky to navigate and hard to read. They can catch you out easily especially at midday when you have 12 o’clock sun and no shadows to give any reference. Also, the long stages and days will take its toll on the body physically.
Is there a particular type of terrain you prefer?
Being from England I love driving on mud and slippery surfaces but unfortunately this is not common on the Dakar Rally. I prefer fast gravel/sand mountain tracks and this will be towards the end of Dakar 2019 so looking forward to that, hopefully I will get to those stages.
What does training for Dakar involve?
As Dakar is such a long race with huge stage distances you have to be physically fit. I mainly do cardio work to prepare for the rally - rowing and cycling is my preferred exercise. I occasionally use a heat chamber to train in as this imitates what the temperature in the car can get up to, around 40 degrees.
What can we expect to see from this race?
Dakar 2019 will be one of the most competitive in recent years. This year there are 5 previous winners competing and also some very fast drivers who have not quite won it yet. Each stage will be a big fight and even though it’s a marathon of a rally I think a lot of drivers will be going 95% from the word go!
Harry will be wearing the Bremont S300
The Dakar rally 2019 commences on January 6th and will cover 10 stages across Peru. For more Information, visit the official website for Dakar.
If you are interested in motorsports, view our Bremont Jaguar range.
