Isidre Esteve: “You must make small goals big achievements”

In February of last year, weeks after the Dakar, Isidre Esteve answered the call from MD. He is on his way to Madrid to talk to his sponsors about getting the T1+, a top-class car, with bigger wheels and more suspension travel than his 4×4 from last year, an important step forward to improve in general. I want a “Top” car. And 10 months later, he will face the Dakar 2023, his 8th in cars after the spinal cord injury he suffered in 2007, which he himself defined as the project of his life, with his long-awaited Toyota Hilux T1+ from the Repsol Rally Team.

In February, he wasn’t wrong.

(Laughter) I remember saying to you: ‘Fabio, now I will take the T1+’. That day I will go to Repsol to propose the project for Dakar 2023 and I will tell them that we need to change the car. They told me: ‘Isidre, every time you come, you ask for more. Next year you will come and do the same’ (laughs). ‘No, we have to do this, because if not, we won’t be competitive,’ I told them. And we did. We are lucky to have some incredible sponsors, both Repsol, MGS, Toyota, KH7 and the other technical sponsors. They always listen to us and open their doors to us.

Did they tell you that the first time?

In this case, they told me that they understand me, that they see it as I see it, but it is necessary to see what the other sponsors have said and they need to talk to Toyota Spain to see if there is a T1+ available. They supported me, but they needed to see how to mature this project.

How long does it take from that exposure to finally owning the car you want?

In May we had a clear. More than three months passed and we now have the sports project and the car. There was an important moment, with an action with the press with Toyota Europe and Toyota Spain in the farmhouse owned by Nasser Al-Attiyah near Barcelona. There we talked a lot about unity, if it exists and what we should do. And Toyota told us to take that step, come to Toyota Gazoo Racing Spain and see how it can be done.

Did you believe you could get this car?

I don’t know the reason, but during these years we had the trust of the people around us and our sponsors, and everything we suggested, we did. True, we have a lot of determination, but here everyone assumes their risks whenever decisions are made and we always have a consensus on where we should go. Logically, all this is more complicated to do than to say, but this belief has always existed.

The one in his car would have been satisfied.

There are ways to ask for things. I always say first what I sincerely believe needs to be done. And in meetings you reach the end point.

A better car is more pressure.

I’m looking forward to going to Dakar because I know I have a good car. But I don’t have any pressure as a result of my sponsors, because they know that I always do my best.

His car is the second generation T1+, the one from last year.

It’s the best car I’ve ever driven. And yes, this is the second generation of the T1+, as the official Toyota T1+ comes with a V6 Biturbo engine and we come with a V8 engine. But they are no longer a big difference.

He says this is the project of his life. Did it exceed your expectations?

I am very proud to have come this far with the best. For many years I had the support of my sponsors and in 2017 we again had the support of Repsol. That’s when I started to believe that we could start thinking big. And I know very well the scale of this project and who we are with. And that’s why I’m so happy. This is a shared project. We have sponsors who believe in it and want the concept to stand alone. They know that I am not going to Dakar to win, and despite this, they understand the project, sympathize with it and make it their own.

His example is key for many people, showing that when you suffer an injury, the world doesn’t end and you have to move on.

The injury is not over, it is the discovery of a new phase in my life, where there is a sports project and a social project like the Isidre Esteve Foundation, where we help people with disabilities through sport. We compete in a sport that is a great example of inclusive sport. We all face the same challenges, with the same difficulties and in the same classification. I feel good.

What would you say to someone who has had a similar injury? Maybe you have doubts where to start or it’s more difficult.

Yes naturally. We all have the truth that we have. Many times, the ‘will is power’ thing has some fine print. That is, not all of us get to do what we want. There are things that limit us.

Not everyone can go to Dakar..

You need to set yourself a very high goal, but first you need to build a ladder. Meaning: small goals and accomplish them like great conquests. And go up.

Are you at the top?

We are in a good place. I had no idea where I was going, or where I was going, or what we were going to do. The best thing is not knowing. Now, it is about that we have reached it and we have an incredible project. So let’s compete!

Last year he was hurt by going a T1 lower than T1+ and the buggies. Also because of the controversial starting order. Now that’s all resolved, but there will be a lot of T1+ and bugs.

Between Century, Toyota, Audi, MD… there will be about 40 cars. But it’s incredible. What I want is to know that on rocky terrain now I can run better than before. From the Top-10 to the Top-50 there is a lot of parity. There were about 13 or 14 fast rides, 8 of them very fast. And from 14 to 30 we have another generation of pilots. One day you can do the 18th and another, the 30th. We are there. The race will be very difficult and the equality is such that one day you can get an incredible result. That can happen.

People should understand that “incredible” is an 18th stage.

This will be a good result. From the outside it’s hard to gauge the competitiveness of the race, but it’s going to be something huge.

What will be the key for you in Dakar 2023?

I also saw in Morocco. The T1+ category has reached this point because in Saudi Arabia there came a time when with the smallest tires we had before on 4x4s we punctured 5 times in one stage, or 6 times… and some punctured 8 times. We had to take a step forward to catch up, because the time came when the Mini, Peugeot and MD buggies produced extraordinary results (they have bigger wheels and more suspension travel than Isidre’s 4×4 from 2022) . And it turns out that we arrived in Morocco this year with the T1+ and we played the same way. Why? Because we are going down a rocky path as if the devil is chasing us. So, I think the key to the 2023 Dakar is, first, knowing that there are 40 cars in this category and the speed from day one will be very high. Usually, there are a lot of rocks at the beginning of the Rally, and in that part you have to be careful. Just because we have T1+ super tires doesn’t mean we can’t puncture on rocks. In Morocco we saw it.

We only have two spare tires. When you click twice and you don’t have a reserve… they’re on top of you (points to throat). You must always drive the car in a straight line and be careful in the first week. For me it is important to get to the rest phase with the car in good order, without dropping into the positions that allow you to get a good result. And then, in the ‘Empty Quarter’ (empty quarter, full of sand dunes, southeast of Saudi Arabia), no one knows. The second part will have a lot of sand, it will be difficult. We went with the 4×4 which has the advantages that buggies have. We have a good car to face a full Dakar and we have to manage the race well. We have to try not to make mistakes that will lose us three hours at once. That we lose 10 minutes a day… but the problem is when you lose several hours a day. You come back and you will come back the next day. You have to run every day, it’s not worth going easy, but knowing how to find a balance so as not to run out of tires and not get stuck in the sand.

A dream?

To be able to continue for many years in the life I have.

What will make you happy when you reach the end goal?

There were no big problems and if I can improve my result in South America (21st in 2018 and 2019).

Thank you very much and good luck

Yours