Isidre Esteve will launch an important phase in his sports career this Saturday at Morocco Rally 2022an appointment that will mark his debut behind the wheel of the Toyota Hilux T1+, the new weapon of Repsol Toyota Rally Team.
The Spanish driver, who has just finished the days of testing on Moroccan soil, begins this competition in preparation for the Dakar 2023 with the mission of adjusting his adaptation and that of his co-driver, Txema Villalobos, to the new vehicle, which is part of the highest category of discipline.
Esteve will make his competition debut in the Toyota Hilux T1+, a vehicle that belongs to the new elite of the specialty.
The Moroccan test will have 1,516 timed km divided into six stages that more closely mimic the challenges that await them in Dakar 2023.
“The goal is to reach January with the ability to ride at the speed that the new car allows from the first kilometer,” said the Oliana driver.
During the tests carried out in Erg Chebbi (Morocco) this week, Esteve was able to verify the leap that the Hilux T1+ represents for him and the Repsol Toyota Rally Team.
“It excels on all surfaces, but where it particularly shines is on hard courts and broken areas.. That is, on the same roads where we used to slow down, now we advance with maximum strength and an incredible level of safety. The other aspect where we see a decisive improvement is in terms of perforations. The larger diameter of the tires of this car allows to overcome areas full of stones with a very low risk of puncture”, he commented.
The in 2022 is the fourth participation of Isidre Esteve in Morocco by car. After being ninth in 2018, 12th in 2019 and 11th overall (eighth in T1) in the last edition, the man from Lleida started a new attempt with goals beyond a certain last position.
“The biggest challenge is to keep discovering the car, gain confidence and find its limit. And this involves both me and Txema, because when you go faster, everything comes faster, also the navigation points. Ultimately, in an adaptation process as intense as the one we’ve started, every stage of competition or testing counts. The goal is to reach January with the ability to ride at the speed that the new car allows from the first kilometer”, explained Esteve.
The Morocco Rally starts this Saturday in Agadir, a town located on the Atlantic coast in the south of the country. For six days, the test will head south passing through Tan-Tan and El Aaiún before returning to Agadir again.
In total, the participants will complete 2,233 kilometers, 1,506 of them against the clock. The first nine will arrive on Saturday in the prologue of the test, which will serve as an appetizer before the remaining five stages of the competition, averaging 300 kilometers per day.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
