Dakar 2019: Nicolas Fuchs and the dream of the 'Top Ten' in this Rally

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Only 3 days after the departure of the 2019 Dakar Rally, the riders who will compete in this 100% Blanquirroja edition already count the hours to be on board their respective vehicles and step on the accelerator in search of the desired Top Ten. One of our biggest letters is the historic Nicolas Fuchs, who along with his co-driver Fernando Mussano, will seek to carry the flag of Peru as far as possible for the third time, seeking to match or exceed that spectacular 12th place obtained in 2017.

          
We are already doing the last tests of our Ford Ranger truck, sincerely the time has passed very fast and I will not deny that the nerves increase but we have a good car, good equipment and eager to get ahead.

Taking into account that your 2018 was marked by abandonments due to mechanical failures, have you re-boosted any characteristic of the vehicle?

We have reinforced above all the temperature issue since the Dakar is very demanding for the engine and for the same crew. We reformed several aesthetic parts such as fiber, protections, we have also lightened the weight of the truck enough to make it more competitive.

It has a V8 engine with 5 liters of direct injection, this gives much more power to the lower part that is important for the dunes. Also a little more final horsepower to have the car faster than last year.

I think the return after the rest day is going to be very hard. The same idea is to get out from less to more with greater caution, trying to minimize errors and taking care of what the car can get to Lima.

              

Receive high level pilots does it mean a motivation?

There is going to be a very competitive Rally, very good teams come from all over the world. We do not have an official team, we have a private team, I think we have to be calm because we can not compete against an official team but we will try to reach as high as possible.

Is it an advantage that runs cleanly on Peruvian soil?

Not necessarily. The dunes are difficult for everyone, we do not even know where the Dakar people are going to put us, so we must take this into account, we must go with caution.