With their performances in the Rallye du Maroc this week, Toomas Triisa and Stefano Caimi have received invitations to compete in the 2023 Dakar Rally. Both offers come through the Road to Dakar programme, which intends to give opportunities to those who have never previously raced in the legendary rally raid.
To be invited to the Dakar Rally via Road to Dakar, a competitor must have no prior experience with the race and be the highest finishing rookie in the T4 and Moto categories at eligible events like the Rallye du Maroc, a World Rally-Raid Championship round. Other races on the Road to Dakar include South Africa’s TGRSA 1000 Desert Race in June and Chile’s Atacama Rally in late August. Luis Díaz Soza won T4 at the latter to punch his ticket to Dakar.
Triisa finished eighth overall in T4. Driving a Can-Am Maverick for Redmoto Estonia with fellow Estonian Mart Meeru as co-driver, Triisa was eighth, twentieth, eighth, eleventh, twelfth, and fifteenth in the Rallye du Maroc’s six legs.
“We had a really nice week with lot of learning and new experiences with SSV, but we reached the finish so we are really happy,” Triisa told Cross-Country Rally News. “One piece, didn’t break something else (besides) many tyres, but all the rest was perfect.”
Caimi was sixth overall in Rally2. Riding for BAS World KTM Racing Team, the Argentine finished eleventh, seventh, tenth, ninth, eleventh, and sixth in each leg.
His brother Franco Caimi has run the Dakar Rally five times, though he missed the 2022 race due to injury. Franco competed in the RallyGP class in Morocco and finished fifth.
On Instagram, Caimi remarked “no falls and in perfect condition! This result is thanks to a lot of effort, sacrifices, training and dedication, and above all, to the people who are next to me[.]”
“You deserve it Champ if there is something that is all the effort and clawing you put in every day,” Franco commented on Stefano’s post. “Proud of you bro”.
The 2023 Dakar Rally will take place from 31 December 2022 to 15 January.
