Dakar Stage 8: Jaroslav Valtr (Buggyra Phoenix) 4th, Vratny (Bonver 15th), Ardavichus (Bonver) 20th; Winner de Rooij takes the lead overall.

After a one year break, Jaroslav Valtr returns to the Dakar with high ambitions. The Czech driver will take on a new challenge joining the Tatra Buggyra Racing team. After bidding farewell to his usual Liaz truck, the one he drove to a great 12th position in 2012, he was given the opportunity to hop in the cabin of a Tatra for his fourth Dakar. After failing to finish his last two Dakar rallies, Valtr needed something new, a competitive truck, the 45-year-old has found just that with his new Tatra Phoenix. On his journey that will hopefully end in Rosario, Valtr will once again have at his side a reference in terms of offroad rallies: Mister Josef Kalina who started his first Dakar in 1991 and won the event twice with legendary Karel Loprais. His other team mate will be young mechanic Kiri Stross who will be discovering the Dakar.

J.V.: “Everything started in 2009 on the Dakar when I started the race as the co-driver of Martin Macik who is today our team owner and truck constructer. I had been racing in small cars for many years and the Dakar had always been my dream. Nothing is better than standing at the finish line and saying, I did it! On the other hand I suffered so many bad situations, technical problems and dangerous moments. I had already used the Buggyra Gyrtech engine during the 2014 Dakar and I could feel the ambition of the team to succeed on the Dakar. I said to myself, if I’m to take part in the Dakar again, then it has to be under the colours of a team with a guaranteed top professional approach and the combination between Tatra and Buggyra provides that.”