Carlos Sainz The first week of the year was spent with notes Dakar He came to the rest day as the leader of the race, which he won three times with three different brands. He mastered it easily, but he faces the challenges with humility every day and knows from experience that he cannot let his guard down.
He was the biggest hero of the camp Ryadh. Satisfied with the work of the first week, satisfied with the success of the strategic decisions they made Lucas Cruz and the reliability of the car, Carlos Sainz He looks both optimistically and cautiously towards the second week, which promises strong emotions.
How do you spend your second week leading the race and seeing how your three major rivals have been eliminated from contention for victory?
This rest day will be good for us and is also very important for the vehicle. The RS Q e-tron is complex and requires attention, and we took the opportunity to replace some of its parts. We have a certain advantage, but we have already seen in the Dakar that the half hour dances easily from side to side and we are aware that the test is not over yet. There are still miles of challenging stages. We are happy with the balance because the first week has been very positive but we need to be cautious. Let us face the latter with humility.
The main enemy?
This is a complete set. Ekström and Loeb are close, but Audi is in an excellent situation and we should try to take advantage of this opportunity.
Have you dreamed of the first week with such solvency?
You imagine everything in a positive way, so one scenario is to end up in a position similar to the one I got on the rest day. The first week went well, there was a little bit of everything, we made risky decisions, we didn’t know in advance whether they were good or bad, and we had to run a lot. . The pace of the race is brutal now. If you want to win, you won’t succeed.
The reliability of the car was one of the highlights
The performance was great, but I already said that we came more prepared than last year. Everyone’s main concern in the Dakar is reliability, and this becomes even more so when you have a car as complex as ours. The work done by the team was sensational, but there is still much more potential to be unlocked.
Everyone’s main concern in the Dakar is reliability
Looking like a winner?
My experience tells me that nothing helps but talking about the present. You have to go every day and the only thing that worries me is tomorrow’s scene.
Was it harder than you thought?
It gets hard. Current problems and differences show that this is not easy for anyone. We work all year thinking that we can win the race, and this motivates you and fills you with energy.
Could the Dakar be lost at this point simply because of a reliability issue?
No. Because of countless problems. There is reliability, of course, but there are also mechanical failures, human errors, navigation errors or mine, but it is also a fact that we are in a good position and we need to benefit from positive energy.
Do you think your career is under control?
When you fall behind in the Dakar you have to take more risks and thus gain more time, but at the same time experience tells you that when you risk too much the race becomes difficult. I will hurt you. If you take the risk and are lucky, you can win many minutes anyway and it is a strategy that works most of the time because we all want to win and it comes second to Ekström and Loeb, who have never won the Dakar. or the third one is of no use to them.
Was strategy important?
It would be an exaggeration to think that we lead with strategy. Of course you need to have a good strategy, but you also need to drive fast, not make mistakes, be consistent and have a reliable car.
It is an exaggeration to think that we lead with strategy.
How do you deal with the pressure that when you’re working towards a goal all year long, any detail can ruin everything?
This is the situation we all find ourselves in as we fight to win the Dakar, and of course, as happened to us last year, sometimes things go well and sometimes things go badly.
What lessons did you learn from your first two years at Audi that could be decisive in this third attempt?
Everything is an evolution. When we started the first stage of the first stage, we were already thinking about developing the car for the second stage, and we started working for the Dakar in the first minute of the following year. It’s a continuous process where you’re always trying to solve any problems you encounter, whether it’s reliability or installation. Things are happening in this car that you’ve never experienced before, and it’s definitely bothering you and creating more suspicion. It’s such a big technological challenge that it’s normal for it to happen because it has more sensors, it has more engines, and there’s a higher chance of something happening in these harsh desert conditions.
Are you happy with the difference in power between this year and last year after the fine tunings introduced by the FIA?
I said it was unfair to go with the same strength and 100 kilos more in the first year. This year the situation is much more balanced and all cars are winning stages. This 15 kW was the minimum power required to fight evenly as we had fought at a disadvantage in previous years.