Even though he hit a rock, Šoltys starts the Dakar Rally just below the podium

The Buggyra pilots kicked off the 47th Dakar Rally with a prologue.

MONACO, FRANCE, January 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Martin Šoltys, in the colours of Tatra Buggyra ZM Racing, took fourth place in the sprint over 29 kilometres of Special Stage in his Buggyra EVO3. Karel Poslední, driving the Tatra Phoenix, recorded the 16th fastest time. Aliyyah Koloc, a pilot for Buggyra ZM Racing, entered the competition with determination. Although she doesn’t have the turbocharged version of the Red-Lined Revo T1+ engine like most of her rivals in the Ultimate category, she finished 29th in an extremely tight field.

Martin Šoltys thoroughly enjoyed his return to the Dakar after a year-long break due to an injury just before the start of last year’s race. "The nervousness finally fell off us, and something started to happen. It was short but all the more intense. We went very fast," he said.

Although the opening lap was just under thirty kilometres, the Tatra Buggyra EVO3 crew had hard times. "Unfortunately, we hit a rock, so we probably caused a bit of damage to the rim on the rear left wheel. But otherwise, it was great, and we have good pace," added the experienced pilot.

Newcomer Karel Poslední made his debut on the Dakar. "We are happy that the Dakar has finally started. The waiting was terrible. We had a good race. Two cars in front of us were kicking up dust, but otherwise, it was good. I am fulfilling my dream here, so we are fighting," said the driver.

Very fast prologue profile admittedly didn’t favour to Aliyyah Koloc as much, but the 20-year-old driver managed a solid start. She finished just 99 seconds behind the winner and only 25 seconds behind the legendary Carlos Sainz Sr.

"I am very happy that the Dakar has started. We’ve been here for a few days, and we finally got on the track today. The prologue was fast, we covered a lot of kilometres at top speed. Our car is not the fastest, but I’m happy and I’m looking forward to the first stage tomorrow," said the elite Ultimate class racer.
Her navigator, Sébastien Delaunay, was also satisfied. "We didn’t make any mistakes. It was a good start."

The Dakar Rally continues on Saturday with the first stage starting and finishing in Bishe. It will cover 499 km, of which 413 are Special Stage.

Buggyra Organisation
Buggyra Organisation
+377 80094459
buggyra@buggyra.com
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