At a press conference, Martin Macik unveiled the new design of the truck, helmets, and racing suits that MM Technology will use at Dakar Rally. This year, the team is backed by its general sponsor, Prometeon Tyre Group, and a new addition to its main sponsors, FESTA. All machinery has passed scrutineering in Barcelona, with a total of nine trucks from Sedlcany technology center headed to Saudi Arabia.

Factory team sports new colors

This year, the factory truck named Benny, as well as the helmets and racing suits of MM Technology, will sport a new design in black, white, and dark blue. These colors match the branding of the general sponsor, Italian tyre manufacturer Prometeon.

Alexandre Bregantim, Chief Technology Officer of Prometeon, stated: “We are proud to bring our collaboration with Martin Macík Jr. and MM Technology to Dakar 2025. The experience gained over the past year in rally competitions, especially at Dakar 2024, allowed us to test and improve our tyres. The S02 Rally is the result of Prometeon’s continuous innovation, designed to meet the unique challenges of Dakar with a reinforced structure, advanced compound, and tread optimized for extreme terrains. Dakar 2025 is a significant opportunity for us to continue testing and perfecting our products, transferring the experience and insights from off-road circuits to the solutions we offer to our customers.”

One of the main partners for this year is FESTA, a brand of professional hand tools from the Czech company Leviors.r.o. “I believe that our support, including the supply of FESTA tools for the team’s mechanics, will help MM Technology bring another significant success to the Czech Republic,” says the company’s managing director, Ing. Ondrej Marek, describing the partnership.

Martin Macik Jr., the MM Technology pilot, adds about the new partners: “We are delighted that two major partners have decided to support us this year. Prometeon tyres have already shown us their capabilities over time, and we look forward to putting them to the ultimate test at Dakar. In the desert, we also want to have quality tools at hand, which is why I’m happy with the partnership with the FESTA brand.”

Scrutineering passed with flying colors

Although Dakar officially begins with the prologue on January 3rd, the journey for the trucks and support vehicles started at the end of November in Barcelona, immediately after a farewell event with Czech fans in Sedlcany. In Barcelona, all vehicles underwent partial scrutineering.

“Everything passed without issues, both administratively and mechanically. That’s no surprise, as we’ve spent months ensuring everything complies with the regulations. I’m satisfied that the machinery is ready to be shipped to Saudi Arabia,” said mechanic David Svanda.

The teams will reunite with the full fleet at the end of December/early January in Bisha, where the second round of scrutineering will take place.

MM Technology brings 9 trucks to the start line

This year’s Dakar will not only be about trying to repeat a victory for MM Technology but also showcasing a large fleet of trucks from the Sedlcany technology center.

“We’re sending a total of nine trucks to Dakar, either fully developed and built by us or using our chassis. Three EVO4 trucks will start: Benny (ours), one with Kees Koolen, and another one with Mitchel van den Brink. The winning truck called Cenda will race under Firemen Dakarteam colors, accompanied by a second EVO3 truck with the Italtrans team, which includes Danilo Petrucci in their crew. Italtrans will also run an older EVO1 truck. Two EVO2 vehicles will be driven by Martin van den Brink and Tibau Assistance team. Lastly, Maurick van Heuel will compete with a truck built on our EVO4 chassis. It’s going to be an exciting battle between many generations of our trucks, and I’m personally looking forward to it,” said Martin Macik, head of MM Technology.

Two weeks of tough terrain

Dakar Rally is known as the toughest rally in the world. Even though it has been held in Saudi Arabia for several years and the terrain is familiar to the teams, the two weeks of competition are sure to bring surprises.

“I’m really curious about this year. Although we’ll be racing in areas we’ve driven through before, knowing the organizers, they’ll definitely throw some tricky navigational challenges our way. We have a prologue and 12 stages ahead of us, and I solemnly promise to try not to get lost,” joked navigator Frantisek Tomasek about the perennial challenge of navigation.