The factory team of MM Technology, consisting of Martin Macik Jr., Frantisek Tomasek, and David Svanda, ended the year with a journey to Saudi Arabia, where they reunited with their vehicles after more than a month. All trucks are in good condition, and after moving to the bivouac in Bisha, they will tackle their first kilometers in the field.

Plane Full of Czechs Heads to Dakar

The annual journey to Dakar began for MM Technology on 29th December late in the evening at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague. A plane filled with Czech crews heading to Dakar took off just before midnight.

“Since COVID, we’ve been chartering a plane every year for all the Czechs heading to Dakar. It’s become a nice tradition that, with a few exceptions, our Czech racing family flies together like this,” says pilot Martin Macik Jr.

The Trucks are Heading to Bisha

After arriving in Jeddah and completing the necessary administrative tasks, including getting local SIM cards, the team retrieved all the machinery, which had begun its journey to Saudi Arabia at the end of November. Compared to last year, acquiring 40 SIM cards went surprisingly quickly, but picking up the machinery came with a bit of an adventure.

“At the port, we had to wait quite a while for the car keys. The local bus driver didn’t seem too happy about it and almost left us there. But everything turned out fine, and we were able to get into our vehicles and set off,” recalls Martin Macik Jr.

All vehicles survived the long journey from Europe intact, and everything is functional, which is always good news. “Except for minor scratches, which are to be expected, both the rally trucks and the support vehicles are in good shape. Now, we have a nearly 600 km drive to the bivouac in Bisha ahead of us, where we’ll undergo final scrutineeringbefore the rally begins,” describes mechanic David Svanda.

A Special Welcome Mission

Part of the crew added a special mission to their first day at the site of the world’s most famous rally. The support truck had a flat tyre on its way to Barcelona back in November, so a replacement was urgently needed.

“We weren’t sure how we’d manage to arrange it in Saudi Arabia, but fortunately, our general partner, Prometeon, came to the rescue. They have corporate facilities right in Jeddah, so we stopped by, and they gave us the tyres,” recounts team manager Martin Pabiska.

Dakar Starts in Just a Few Days

In the coming days, the trucksmust pass another round of scrutineering before they can hit the ground running. Before the official start of Dakar, there will be a private test session giving all teams a chance to get a taste of the local conditions.

The prologue, which will determine the starting order for the rally, is scheduled for 3rd January 2025.The competitors will spend quite a bit of time in the bivouac in Bisha, leaving it after7th January 2025.