Two days before the start of the Morocco Rallyan important event for all Dakarians because it serves as conclusions and tunes their cars to get the most out of the Dakar, Isidre Esteve (52 years old) has a big smile on her face. I am where I want to be. Next to his car, before starting a new adventure: his preparation for what will be his 20th Dakar (10 by car and 10 by motorcycle).
The one from Oliana competes with an adapted steering wheel due to the spinal injury he suffered since he had a serious motorcycle accident in 2007. After many years full of progress and breaking barriers, competing him in a top category T1+ car against the best on the planet. And MD, getting into the Catalan’s co-pilot seat, soon understood what this meant for Isidre.
Live by and for racing. Stopping to look at the road where Esteve is jumping at 130 km/h and focusing on his face, everything becomes easier to understand. I couldn’t stop smiling. I’m enjoying it. No stopping. i am happy He does what he wants. And this is what he explained later in an interview with Mundo Deportivo.
He will celebrate 20 Dakars. Did you think you could reach this figure?
No, in fact they told me the other day that this was my 20th Dakar. I’ve lost count. I’ve been riding motorcycles for 10 years and this will be my 10th in a car and yes, a lifetime, but I’m enjoying this life. We are ok.
Due to a spinal cord injury, he can only drive with his hands using an adapted steering wheel that allows him to accelerate and brake while turning with just his hands. How do you prepare for a Dakar in this context at home, since you don’t have an adapted simulator like other drivers might have?
With a car it is a bit more complicated than with a motorcycle. With a motorcycle you have one at home to do many training sessions on it. In the car it is not possible. At home, all training is physical and then we try to have the highest sports plan possible (race) to go by car. There are not only races, but also previous testing and previous actions (like co-driving), so all the kilometers you can do in the car before the race are important. We must also consider that the car I drive on the street, my Toyota utility vehicle, also has controls. So when I drive on the street I do it the same way, simple, that when racing you go to the limit.
How many days did you test in Morocco before this Rally?
We are in Morocco for over a week before the Morocco Rally. We tested in the sands of Merzouga and I think I can do as many kilometers of tests as this race has. So we arrived at a good time.
What can you try and improve about the car for this year?
We are going to the Toyota Hilux T1+ with a V8 engine, a car that we refined last year, but at the suspension level we are improving every year because with Toyota engineers, the suspension system is getting better and better. We try to provide the latest news and test them. For me, when I have a car with a set-up that I’m comfortable with and I can reach the maximum on all types of terrain, that’s fine with me. So we didn’t make many changes. We are on the right track.
Last year he starred in a touching scene when he arrived at the bivouac in tears after the diversity problems he suffered in the terrifying ‘Empty Quarter’ (the world’s largest sand desert) when he was fighting for the Top-20 overall. He suffered an odyssey. Is this Dakar considered a personal revenge?
We were very unlucky. We talked a lot with Toyota about what happened and that doesn’t happen, the difference is that it doesn’t have to break in the kilometers it has. But no, no revenge of any kind. We know that this race (the Dakar) is like this, that suddenly… everything is going well and one day something breaks and you lose 24 hours like we lost in that case. In other words, the experience means that we are preparing for the Dakar better and better. With what happened to us last year, we will do things differently this year to avoid those little problems. Learn from everything. And that’s when we learned that we shouldn’t throw in the towel, be there until the end. We had a very good first week of racing and that incident stopped us for that second week.
What future goal are you pursuing?
For us, the next step is to improve, to be more competitive. And being competitive is part of something. In the case of the renewable fuel development that we started right here in Morocco three years ago, being next to the people at the Repsol Technology Lab, working with them, sharing data with Toyota Gazoo Racing, makes you feel like you’re taking part of a change. And we want to participate in a direct way here. And be more competitive every day, renewable fuel is becoming more and more competitive and ultimately it will put us in a better position in the races.
Furthermore, the Dakar context is good, with 5 main official brands. Do you feel like you are in the right place at the right time?
No doubt, but for different reasons. The 2025 World Rally Raid calendar was recently published, with the Dakar, Abu Dhabi, a new race in South Africa, the Trans-Iberian of Spain and Portugal and the Morocco Rally. The Raid Rally is experiencing a very sweet moment, with 5 brands present, all of them competing to win. At Repsol we have a good project with Toyota. And we are here and we will fight. Is there anything else? All right.
Wearing an adapted steering wheel also serves to help improve this technology so that more drivers with injuries similar to yours can compete.
The important thing about it is the message. Guidosimplex, an Italian company, has been making car-adapted controls for years and we’re working hard to make them better and better. But there is something more: when we always talk about inclusive sport, whether it is possible or how important it is, the Dakar is a clear example that motorsport is an inclusive sport. I, with a disability, will face the same special tomorrow as everyone else, I’m in the same classification and I don’t have any bonus when I lose time when changing a tire (only his co-driver gets out of the car to change it) or whatever. It makes me feel better. I continue to do what I love and have been surrounded by people who have surrounded me throughout my life. I say to Txema (his co-driver): ‘We are at the beginning of the stage and in front is Nani Roma’. There were drivers we fought on motorcycles and now we’re all in cars. Nothing seems to have changed.
The company Guidosimplex, the developer of the adapted steering wheel it carries, stands out. For this, the insistence and work of another pilot in said company was key: Albert Llovera.
Exactly. Albert Llovera started all this control in Guidosimplex. He opened a door and made it easier for the rest of us to find that technological adaptation so we could drive with our hands.
And sure enough, when you were in the hospital after the accident you had in 2007, your wife, Lidia, called Albert Llovera and he quickly showed up at the hospital to help with her example.
We have known Albert for a long time. Our family has a hotel in Oliana and when he came down from Andorra, he stopped there to eat. And when I was riding a motorcycle I started seeing him at races and I always thought: ‘Wow! This boy, what strength he has.’ And when you have an accident, you will naturally connect with people you have known for a long time who are experiencing what is new to you. He showed up at the hospital, talked to Lidia… he was so good.
What result can be set as a goal for Dakar 2025?
Dakar has changed a lot in the last 3 years. Now you look at the top class and there are 50 identical cars. Not 10 or 20… there are 50. Of them, 20 are official pilots. But it means that the pace of the race will increase, and when that happens, more risks are taken. Everything. I think it will be a fun Dakar, very competitive, and where we shouldn’t make mistakes that will set us back for a long time. You have to try to go fast, because in the current Dakar you can’t go out and reserve anything. If you don’t get out quickly, on the first day you’ll be 70 and you can’t. You have to find a balance to reach the end without wasting a lot of time and being competitive. And then, we will see the final result.
How do you rate the Dakar 2025 route?
There will be a very difficult first week, where there will be a 48-hour time trial special (in two days they will not return to the bivouac) and it will no longer be in the ‘Empty Quarter’ desert, but in the northern part, if where there are many stones. Let’s see how we fall on the wheels. That is the point that concerns us at that stage. And then the Dakar starts now and the first kilometer is the highest. If we add to this that there will be 5 brands with 20 drivers who all want to win… I think it will be a very intense Dakar.
What message do you send to the readers of Mundo Deportivo?
We will try to be our best and we hope we can show you every day what we do and how we do it.
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.
