They are Javier Vélez and Mateo Moreno, who return to the competition in Saudi Arabia in the light car category.
To be on the starting line of a Dakar Rally is considered a triumph, to finish it, a feat.
In the so-called toughest endurance race in the world, due to the extreme situations of heat, cold and wind that athletes face, added to the wild journey through dunes, canyons and cliffs, two Colombian pilots will challenge the inhuman adventure of the 2022 edition , which officially begins this Saturday and which will have a route of regarding 8,000 kilometers (4,300 of special timed) distributed in 12 stages in Saudi Arabia, a country located in Western Asia that hosts the competition for the third time.
The standard bearers of the country this time will be Javier Vélez and Mateo Moreno, who will participate in the category of T3 cars -light vehicles-.
This same pair competed in the Saudi event in 2021, but a turnaround in stage three, as the organization of the race recalled, left their car without front-wheel drive and they had to abandon the competitive event, although they continued the route in the Experience mode.
“The Dakar seemed tough to me, with long links, although with an impeccable organization. There were sections with a lot of stone that affected the suspensions and tires and made us suffer too much ”, assured Vélez. “After the abandonment we had the expectation to finish, even if it was in the Experience mode and we succeeded. That left us satisfied ”, added the pilot, who to continue adding kilometers and gain experience was with his compatriot in the Rally of Morocco.
The Antioqueño Moreno, for his part, was the first national to participate in the motorcycle category in the Dakar and achieve the goal in 2013. The following year he left and in 2015 he had an accident and in 2017 he completed the test in 74th place. ” The Dakar puts you to the test every day. You have to be a navigator, a mechanic, and know how to dig up the vehicle. We are happy to return. The main expectation is to finish the rally “, said Moreno
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