Carlos Santaolalla (9-9-1964, Barcelona) and Jan Rosa (9-6-2001, Girona) are the current ones Dakar Classic champions and in the 2025 edition of the race they are once again leading the competition. With three days left, after an exciting battle against the Italian Lorenzo Traglioand after the abandonment of another of the favorite couples, Juan formed Mulberry and his wife Lidia Ruba, Santaolalla and Rosa have a golden opportunity to keep the crown with an iconic car, owned by the legendary Jacky Ickx, and a necessary message for the people.
Santaolalla competes in the Dakar Classic out of passionbut also to spread the importance of social project ‘Untag me’.
“From here we want publicize ‘Desetiquétame’, a solidarity project that wants to support people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and other learning disabilities”explained the novice rider from Barcelona at the Dakar bivouac, assisted by the Pedregà Team.
“We want to inform and We have been supporting this project for 4 years. We want you to be able to get on the page and collaborate on whatever it is or at least see what’s being done”added the pilot, perfectly demonstrating the great achievements that a person with ADHD can achieve in the same way.
“I have chronic ADHD and mildly persistent dyslexia. And so does my son. A lot of people are like this and we want to make it known. It’s not that we are different, it is We have another way of learning and we can achieve any goal, and this is an example: to be able to run a Dakar and win it. “It doesn’t require more than another system or form of concentration.” He continued for this newspaper before facing some exciting final days of the Dakar in an evenly matched battle for the crown.
“It was a very difficult match. We had a mechanical problem that prevented us from being closer or at the front halfway through the Dakar, but the car worked well. It is the rest phase and there are 6 days left and we are very happy with the engine. “Everything is very tight,” he commented to this media on the remaining days of the Dakar. But a few days later, the Catalan crew completed the return with great perseverance.
They ask for greater impact
Carlos and Jan are asking for a bigger impact in the media Dakar Classic due to the difficulty of competing in this regularity competition, both due to pushing historical mechanics to the limit, and due to the added difficulty of regularity competition.
“There is no impact that we want it to have, because I think it is worthy, because in the end it is about running 7,000 or more kilometers in these cars, The fact that most of them are original and they ran at the time, has a lot of merit. It is a discipline that must have an impact because “The cars are amazing, we are 96 cars, the second category with the most cars, and it’s exciting”Jan said to MD.
The complexity for the co-pilot is enormous. You need to master several devices to meet the average speeds set by the organization in each mini sector.
“This is achieved through a formula through three parameters: meter, time and average. With these three factors, we constantly calculate and recalculate so that there is a theoretical time to do for each section and compare it to the actual time you do. The one who gets closer to those times is the winner,” Jan remarks about a competition that works by points. Whoever has the fewest penalty points wins. And in that game, Carlos and Jan were the best.
They were lying on a dune and had to be taken out by a truck. “At that time we didn’t think we could fight for first place.” But they did it and now they are leading with an iron fist.
In Jacky Ickx’s car
Carlos and Jan They have a sticker on the side of their car’iconic‘ which indicates that That car competed in the Dakar at the time. In particular, he did it in Jacky Ickx at the wheel and his daughter as co-pilot.
Santaolalla felt a special “pride” for being able to go for the win with a car driven by the wonderful Belgian. “It’s very well built and the cushioning is very good in a car that isn’t modern. “He endures everything,” highlights Santaolalla, who, with his co-pilot from Girona, is on his way to his second title.
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.
