Two legendary Dakar names, Jordi Juvanteny and José Luis Criado, drivers of the KH7-Epsilon Team, will face the next Dakar Rally with the only hybrid truck powered by hydrogena challenge indicated by Criado, a notary by profession, in statements to EFE that “those who pass the notary exams dare everything, even Dakar.”
Juvanteny (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, 1960), the car’s technical architect and driver, will compete in his 31st Dakar and José Luis Criado (Arjona, 1957), his co-driver and navigator, in the 32nd , as the Spanish with the most participation.
They met in the 1991 Dakar, and they have 27 participations as a ‘domestic couple’ and 16 wins in the 6×6 truck category and four in the Production category.
Last year, when Criado was unable to compete due to covid 19, for the first time since 1990 (Fina Román was the co-driver) they accepted the challenge and used HVO -synthetic diesel made from recycled oil- combined with LPG (liquefied gas). of oil), so that it significantly reduces its emissions.
Today, they will use a MAN TGA 26,480 truck weighing 11.5 tons and with 800 HP of power, carrying a standard 900-liter diesel tank and two 240-liter hydrogen tanks (120 each) of 10 kilograms in 350 bar of Pressure.
It has an inline six-cylinder engine that will use a combination of diesel and hydrogen.the latter is injected from two tanks that will be filled at the end of each stage using a mobile hydrogenerator.
This is the latest technology that can be achieved in a sustainable vehicle and Jordi Juvanteny, who started in 1991 with a family business land transport truck, although it only lasted three days in Dakar that year.
“Neither José Luis Criado nor I are professionals in this field, but we have thirty years of experience and we like challenges.“, assured Juvanteny.
They started their first Dakar together in 1995 and are still there. They are oriented to a compass because there is no GPS or anything. Now they have a tablet that acts as a ‘road book’ and electronic location systems, although they won’t know the route until shortly before the start.
“The big brands knew the routes in advance and we didn’t, where we all knock ourselves out of them. Before, the ‘big ones’ knew two days before where they had to go”, said the Catalan.
José Luis Criado turned 65, but pointed out that “notaries don’t retire until 72”. He was the co-pilot and navigator and had to update himself with the technological changes that had taken place.
“I believe that one of our virtues is gradual adaptation for a long time with all the new things and changes that are taking place”, he specified.
“Jordi and I are both chameleons because it’s not common that people our age continue to do this with the same enthusiasm we put in on the first day. And on top of that, taking on new projects like the one we have now and that. no one has done it, with great enthusiasm and a lot of effort”, he asserted.
Juvanteny is the ‘serious’ of the couple and Criado is the villain, always a joker, a man from Jaén born in Arjona and working as a notary in La Roca del Vallés.
“Despite our great unity, we fought many times, sometimes hard, but it didn’t last long.“, Juvanteny hinted. And Criado announced: “in the cabin I have my talisman, which is the image of the Virgen de la Cabeza and always accompanies us.”
For many, the essence of the Dakar is the editions in Africa (1979-2007), which they continue to call ‘the real one’. Juvanteny has a clear idea about this: “Today it is unthinkable to do a Dakar like this, because Africa has changed a lot, it is very different today from the one we know…”.
“The mechanics, ourselves, we’ve all changed so much it’s impossible. It’s true that we keep those memories as the best; they are Dakar adventures, which is what attracted us,” Juventeny insisted.
The competition will be held in Saudi Arabia on January 31 starting with a ‘Sea Camp’ on the shores of the Red Sea.. A total of 5,000 kilometer specials will be covered in 14 stages, as well as a prologue, which will conclude in Dammam on January 15.
The Port of Barcelona is a scientific collaborator of the team to study the adaptation of existing industrial machines to alternative fuels and their possible implementation in the decarbonization of port activity.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
