The first half of this year’s Dakar has been brutally demanding, but the Sedlcany-based crew is thriving. With three stage wins out of five, Martin Macik Jr., Frantisek Tomasek, and David Svanda continue to extend their lead in the overall rankings, firmly holding onto first place. Success is also coming for MM Technology as a constructor—marathon stages have seen their trucks achieve a double hat-trick.

Masters of the Toughest Stages

Going full throttle too soon can be a costly mistake—something the experienced crew of the rally truck “Benny” knows well. That’s why the team focused on keeping everything running smoothly in the opening stages. Dubbed “The Sedlcany Squad” by fans, Martin Macik Jr., Frantisek Tomasek, and David Svanda put their skills on full display a little later – in the gruelling special stages.

“This year’s Dakar is extremely challenging. The special stages are always a tough test—not just for us, but for the trucks as well. And this time, they threw them at us right from the start, one after another. The 48-hour Chrono took place in completely different terrain than last year, and the first part of the marathon stage was pure hell. Yet, we managed to win them, and in both marathon stages, MM Technology trucks locked out the podium, claiming the top three spots. It doesn’t get much better than that,” says pilot Martin Macik Jr.

A Navigator’s Nightmare

The first five stages of this year’s rally have also been a brutal test of navigation skills. That’s why having an experienced co-driver who can decipher tricky roadbooks quickly is crucial. In the black-and-white MM Technology truck, that responsibility falls to Frantisek Tomasek, a seasoned Dakar navigator.

“I’ve racked up quite a few miles, so I have a good sense of what kind of surprises the roadbook might throw at us. But this year, the organizers have really outdone themselves. I don’t think there’s been a single stage where we didn’t scratch our heads at least a little. Thankfully, we’ve managed to crack all the tricky bits so far. And when we did make a mistake, we corrected it quickly, which is a big part of why we’re holding a solid lead,” Tomasek sums up the Dakar so far.

Luck Favors the Prepared

Winning Dakar always requires a bit of luck—but as they say, luck favors the prepared. That goes for both the crew and the machinery, which has already endured serious punishment in the first week of racing. Despite this, the MM Technology truck has yet to require major repairs.

“Benny took a real beating in the first stage—it looked like he’d already done the entire Dakar. Fortunately, most of the damage was cosmetic, so we just patched up the stickers, swapped the windshield, and kept pushing. The rocky terrain has been hardest on the tyres, but we’ve been relatively lucky there as well—we haven’t lost too many. During the rest day, we fixed what needed fixing, but nothing major has gone wrong so far. Everything’s running like it should, and I’m happy with how things are holding up,” says MM Technology mechanic David Svanda.

Keeping the Fans in the Loop

Dakar is the toughest rally in the world, and it always provides plenty of wild stories. The MM Technology crew will be sharing the best moments and behind-the-scenes insights with fans during the Dakar Obsessed Talk show Tour, set to hit various cities across the Czech Republic in February and March.