Laia Sanz: “Before, I was a strange person in the Dakar because I was a woman, but now it’s considered normal”

What goal are you setting for this Dakar?

Every year they ask me if I want to be in the top 10, the top 15… The aim is to enjoy after the bad taste we left in our mouth last year. This will mean we did the job well. If we enjoy it, we carry our rhythm and go where we need to go. When you start to have problems and start from the back you see that the track is dilapidated, you have to pass a lot of people, there is a lot of dust and everything gets complicated.

Last year many people would have given up on all the problems you had.

I’m grateful to have finished it now, a lot of people would have gone home then, yeah. After the accident on the fifth stage, we were a little dazed for 10 minutes and when we recovered we started disassembling the car, when help arrived we were able to put it back together and get to the cutoff in time. Last year’s Dakar was very difficult psychologically, it started to be difficult for us from the second day. Running out of options so quickly and falling so far behind doesn’t allow you to enjoy yourself. If we have cleaner stages this year, we can show that we can be fast.

For this Dakar they are launching a new car with better features. How did you feel in the car?

This car has a smaller engine and is lower, which improves the behavior of the car. We also increased the visibility and felt very good in our tests in Morocco. The car is magnificent in fast areas, while passing not very complex dunes. We will suffer more when the dunes get complicated, we will have to face these stages in survival mode, I’m trying not to waste too much time. The strong point of the car is fast and broken stages, we will try to push it as much as we can there.

Is it better to try to keep a steady rhythm and not push too hard to avoid mechanical problems or accidents?

To be successful in Dakar you have to push, the level of cars and drivers is very high. Testing has changed a lot in recent years; There were two stages where you ran a lot before and you had to do it on the other days. There are so many levels now, you either run or you don’t get ahead.

You once explained that it is possible to show your quality on an unofficial motorcycle, and that it is much more difficult to stand out and be at the top if you do not have the opportunity to have a T1+ with a car.

Not just because of the car itself, but also because of the tools that those at the top have to train with all year long. It’s hard to compete with these people, but I think we can make up for this lack of mileage we want to have with the experience we both have in racing. After all, riding a motorcycle is also beneficial and positive. We want to take baby steps. Let’s see if we can do a good job in the general classification and improve on that next year.

“I cannot make a living from Dakar and I also have difficulty in covering my expenses.”

Why haven’t you been given the chance to use a T1+ yet?

Because it is worth a lot of money. Going to Dakar by car is ten times more valuable than going by motorcycle, and getting this opportunity is not easy at all. There are currently two young drivers in an official car, but this has not happened for many years. There are few seats and most have resident pilots and it is very difficult to fight for their place. And of course, it’s hard to prove that you can be there if you don’t have the same opportunities, so either you have a lot of money or it’s complicated. I’m at this predicament, maybe in my case it will have to be slower than others, but I’ll keep trying. If I didn’t believe in myself I wouldn’t have tried. It already cost me a lot on the motorcycle, but I succeeded.

There are 46 female pilots in this edition, 6% of them. It’s still a low number, but in 2011…

We were maybe five or six people… A lot has changed. Previously it was a strange incident in Dakar, now it is considered a normal thing, Our numbers are increasing, not just pilots. There are more and more copilots, mechanics and engineers; Women work in jobs that have traditionally been men’s jobs. Everything is changing, and changing rapidly. There are also two or three Saudi women who are pilots. This was unthinkable.

In the Astara team, two women drive the car; Patricia Pita and you. He said you are his reference, he won’t be the only one.

It’s true that I will help in some way, especially some of the younger ones. It’s great to see that I have another woman in my team and that there are so many girls in the Dakar. Jutta Kleinschmidt and Andrea Mayer also helped me because they were there and made you see that it was possible. Of course, there is still much to do.

The Dakar event remains inevitable for you. Did the switch to four wheels give you extra motivation?

I felt like I had reached my limit on the bike. Over the last few years it has been difficult to always maintain full motivation while riding a motorcycle. Once I got into the top 10, I felt like I had done everything. So I made the change, I felt like that phase was over and I needed new motivation, new goals. I’m still a ‘rookie’ in cars, I have a whole world to explore. It’s my third year, yes, but I only have a few miles left and I have a lot of growing to do.

A man can retire and live in peace with everything he’s earned (20 world titles between enduro and trials).

Probably. But this is not my case. And not only that. Many people are surprised when I say that it is very difficult to find the budget to run the Dakar. I can’t make a living from Dakar, it’s hard for me to cover the expenses and I spend the whole year working for it. When people see you on TV they think everything is nice and easy, but it’s not. After everything I’ve done, after proving that I’m a professional and always finishing the Dakar, sometimes I feel a little disappointed, I really want to prove it but I need the tools to achieve it.