The Dakar Rally is getting near day by day. Already on New Year’s Eve pilot Martin Macik will set off with his crew to explore the treacherous dunes of the Empty Quarter. It will be his 11th start. At the same time the Dakar will also open the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship in which Macik will participate for the second time. During the first year the trucks manufactured in Sedlcany managed to perform very respectably and occupied the first two places. What will the next season of long distance competitions look like? How many trucks from Sedlcany will participate this time? And why is it important for Martin and his crew to race all year round?

Trucks from Sedlcany scored points in the long-distance rally world cup

Kees Koolen received the winning trophy for the World Rally-Raid Championship in the truck category (T5) at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Bologna in December. The Dutch pilot competed in a truck built by constructors and mechanics from Sedlcany. The Czech team also provided Koolen with complete technical support throughout. Martin Macik, who is the main pilot of MM Technology, finished second in the world championship. “The FIA World Rally-Raid Championship is one of the biggest world cups in motorsport. We are happy that trucks can now race too. I am convinced that the truck category will soon become more visible and grow. We were the pioneers this year,” says Martin Macik. The World Cup offers truck crews a chance to take advantage of the entire racing season and not just the Dakar. “It’s great now that we can compete several times a year. We want to do what we enjoy and the Rallye du Maroc or the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge are attractive rallys both for the crews and fans,” says Macik, adding that both events have brought additional experience to him personally, especially with driving in the dunes. The fact they competed in these events was also very useful in the development of new rally machines. “The Rallye du Maroc was the first race in which we used Cenda, my new truck, with which I am now going to the Dakar. We tested it very well in Morocco,” says Macik, who eventually won the Rallye du Maroc with his new truck.

We won’t be missing out next year

Martin Macik’s team is looking forward to the next cycle of the world championship too. For the trucks the cycle starts with Dakar 2023. It will continue with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in February and will end with the Rallye du Maroc in October. “Three trucks built here in Sedlcany will enter the next year of the world championship. I will drive Cenda as a factory driver for MM Technology, Kees Koolen takes the wheel of a truck for Project 2030 and Claudio Bellina for Italtrans Racing. The three of us will go to Dakar and Morocco, then for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge there will probably be just two of us. I believe that other crews will join as well,” says Macik, adding that as a part of his new season he also expects to participate in the popular Baja Aragon. MM Technology will also provide their services to the client competitors at the Morocco Desert Challenge. According to the latest information it seems that the next season will be a busy one.