Isidre Esteve: “There are already 18 Dakars…”

Isidre Esteve he was happy, even with a bitter taste. I am happy to add another goal in the Dakar Rally. But at the same time, he does not forget the problems that affected him during the Rally. First, it was the disappointment of a difference that hurt him at the beginning of the trial on several occasions. He was able to maintain a very good speed, avoiding dangers and constantly advancing, which allowed him to fight for an impressive Top-20, but in the marathon phase, due to electrical setback, he lost more than 3 hours in the dunes that prevented him from fighting for that result. He has the speed and the car for it, but he has to wait for the next course to achieve a result that will make him famous.

“We are at the end and there are already 18, 18 Dakars, 10 on motorcycles and 8 in cars. Being here is always a great experience. Naturally, the first thing I remember is how the race was, and if something happened to me, what happened to us and what should be done to prevent it from happening again. We left ourselves 3 and a half hours in the ‘Empty Quarter’, at the Marathon stage due to an electrical problem. We can’t do anything, so I hope it doesn’t happen again.”said the Repsol Toyota Rally Team driver with resignation.

“But it’s also a moment to thank all our sponsors, Repsol, MGS, KH-7, Toyota Spain and Toyota Europe, for all the support we need to be here. And naturally, in our human group, that for me is the most important thing: our mechanic, the incomparable work of Txema (Villalobos), because in the end having someone like him next to you is key when we have a problem, and of course, my wife Lídia (Guerrero, her physiotherapist and husband), without him, naturally, I would not be here. So thank you”, added the person from Oliana (Lleida).

A surprise ending

The last stage is not easy for Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos, because one last distraction would complicate their vision for a quarter of an hour. rolling backwards Laia Sanzthe Catalan driver accelerated in a muddy area, with the bad luck that he got the entire front window of Isidre Esteve’s Toyota Hilux dirty.

“The stage is very good, it’s fun, because it’s mud and driving high. I left and Laia was behind me. I wanted to go to the side and just catch the mud, sped up and left my windshield covered in mud. Txema (his co-pilot) told me: ‘Throw water, throw water’. We went about 15 or 20 kilometers without seeing anything, dumping water and more water. Good thing we had water on the windshield, because otherwise it would have been a problem. We cleaned it up, it went on and we were happy until the end,” he said with a laugh at the end, before Laia Sanz found out in shock what had happened. Everyone laughed. Both KH-7 pilots made it to the finish line, albeit after a rally with more setbacks than expected.