In Dakar by surprise

9:00 pm on stage 2. This is one of the hardest days Dakarians can remember, with big rocks and trail rides. A real torture for everyone. Imagine how a novice like Dani Vilà (02/03/1993, in Igualada) feels with even more complications: He debuts in the most difficult race in the world and does it in the class that mostly destroys the body and mind , Motul’s Original class, where competitors experience this test in its purest form: they compete without engine assistance, without assistance. They sleep in tents, nothing fancy, and they face danger alone. They arrive at the camp and while the other drivers leave their cars in the hands of the mechanics and focus on eating, showering and resting, the Originals like Dani have to get their hands dirty to fix it. their cars, be it. whether it rains or not. It was cold, and despite being tired from many hours on stage.

I entered the dining room at 11:00 pm We greeted you from a few tables away. He was so tired that he didn’t see us. Back then, MD chatted with him after a period where he was on his quad for 8 hours and 22 minutes. He got to the Original zone and went straight to work on his quad. He hadn’t eaten since he left camp around 6:30 in the morning. “I shredded the quad a little bit the whole stage,” he said. And despite knowing all the work ahead, he did not hesitate to stop to help some riders: “I helped some riders who crashed and had to come at night. Today I am finishing the work on the quad to start the stage tomorrow with the highest possible guarantees. To rest as early as possible”, he pointed out. But he still has time.

Upon arrival, he made the tools available to Original by Motul. “For example, I have 4 main tool boxes with original spare parts, with consumables, a screwdriver and all kinds of tools that I brought from home, but the organization also gives you anything you need mo. I prefer to make my own box with quad basics and so I don’t have to wait to use a specific tool”, he explained to MD

“Today I replaced two front tires. On one I fixed the puncture three times and there was no solution. I changed the oil, I screwed the grill that I lost, I greased the chain, tightened the hubs on front, changed the rear hub, I changed the buzzer (Dakar sound alert system in case you need to happen to a car or danger warning), the control was also broken during the stage…”, he said, when never loses his smile and doesn’t mind devoting his time to MD despite the fact that he has no free time. .

So, he showed us where he spends the night. He calls it “chalet of love… of love for the Dakar”. Behind the designated area for Original motorcycle and quad riders to repair their motorcycles are their shops. No one sleeps in a caravan like many pilots. They sleep on the floor like the old way. There hangs his monkey, on a chair next to a tent where he spends less time than he would like. If he achieves his goal of reaching the finish line, he will spend 15 days (prologue stage and 14 special stages) fighting his limits, like the Dakarians of the past.

He is committed to Quad Cross: he is paid “for every win”

Dani Vilà is a ‘rare bird’ in Spain: he dedicates himself professionally to the Quad Cross with no other livelihood behind him. He has been a professional since 2013. “I get paid for every win. So my record of achievements…”, he clarified. If you don’t win, there’s no money, so every appointment is taken as the last. This situation of uncertainty and instability caused him to feel “stuck”. He had to explore other paths and ways of life. He decided on raids, a modality in which he started in 2016. The opportunity to go to Dakar opened a different future for him. Due to the extreme difficulty and prestige of attending the race, in addition to the need to learn in a different way, he prepared for several years while continuing to run in Quad Cross because it “gives me a little money to live on. “. .

In Dakar, thanks for a last minute call

His intention is to attend the Dakar 2024. He went to the Morocco Rally this year to get the ticket for that dream. However, when he returned home, he was surprised. Less than two months before Dakar 2023, Motul called him: “At the registration horn, they called me and told me that I could go to Dakar. Motul gave me the support I was missing”. He had to debut in the hardest class.

“It is an opportunity to learn from this race within the race itself to prepare myself to return in the coming years with help and in search of a good result”, he said with enthusiasm. Spain won the Dakar in quads once, in 2006. Juan Corominas ‘Pedregà’ did it. Dani’s dream is to develop to look forward to it in the future.