Dakar

2024 Dakar Rally: 80 on Dakar Classic entry list

5 Mins read
Credit: Ignacio Corcuera

The fourth annual Dakar Classic, a side event to the main Dakar Rally that focuses on navigation and competing with rally vehicles built prior to 1999, will see a grid of eighty strong. Sixty-five of the entrants are in cars while the other fifteen race trucks.

Juan Morera and his wife Lidia Ruba hope to become the Classic’s first repeat winners as the reigning champions pilot a Porsche 959, switching from a Toyota Land Cruiser. The latter still has plenty of representation such as Carlos Santaolalla and Paolo Bedeschi, who joined Morera on the 2023 podium.

Barbora Holická and Lucie Engová, the latter the sister of ex-Formula One driver Tomáš Enge, will race a 1979 Citroën 2CV affectionately nicknamed “Duckar” for the rubber duck livery and Holická’s duck raising philanthropy. Nine-time Croatian Rally Champion Juraj Šebalj will take part in a Nissan Terrano.

Jorge Pérez Companc arrives at the Dakar with a decorated family pedigree. His father Gregorio was an Argentine entrepreneur and one of the country’s wealthiest businessmen, while his brothers Luis and Pablo have respectively raced in the WRC and sports cars; his son Ezequiel, a GT racer by trade, also has some off-road experience in Extreme E.

Due to the caveat that vehicles must be produced prior to the turn of the millennium, many hold various unusual stories that one will not get from a new car. While most used to contest the original Paris–Dakar Rally or other related rallies, others come from just as unique backgrounds. Ignacio Corcuera, for example, will pilot a Mercedes Unimog 424 that used to be a city-owned snowplow and firefighter training truck before Corcuera turned it into a supply transport truck to Ukraine and eventual rally competitor. Fellow truck racer Alexandre Lemeray‘s MAN L90 will be powered by hydrogen.

Janus van Kasteren Sr., whose son won the 2023 Dakar Rally in the truck category, will race the legendary DAF 3300 nicknamed “The Bull” for Team de Rooy, whose owner Jan de Rooy piloted it in the 1985 edition.

Brothers Maximilian and Laurence Loder are driving a Puch 280GE modelled after their father Josef’s G-Wagen that also raced in 1985. Unlike Josef’s car, the younger Loders’ was previously a four-door model that they converted to make it resemble the original vehicle.

Various competitors previously took part in the main Dakar Rally. Daniel Albero Puig raced twice on a bike in 2019 and 2020 before transitioning to a car for the Classic, while Rafael Lesmes moves from racing a T3 in 2023 to a Classic truck in 2024. Others, much like their vehicles, go further back to the days of the Paris–Dakar like Hervé Solandt, who raced the Dakar in 1985 and will pilot a Range Rover owned by ten-time Dakar starter Raoul Raymondis; his co-driver Brice Laborie-Brondino is the son of 1988 competitor Philippe Laborie.

Fabrizia Pons, who won four World Rally Championship races in the 1980s as the co-driver for Michèle Mouton before entering four Dakars with Jutta Kleinschmidt, makes her Dakar Classic début alongside former bike racer Luciano Carcheri.

The Classic is split into four speed groups of H1 (low average speed), H2 (moderate), H3 (intermediate; 10 to fifteen percent faster than average), and H4 (high speed; twenty-five to thirty-five percent faster), along with three periods of A (pre-1986), B (1986 to 1996), and C (1996 onwards).

The race commences alongside the main Dakar Rally on 5 January.

2024 Dakar Classic entry list

Cars

NumberDriverCo-DriverTeamVehicleGroup
700Juan MoreraLidia RubaMomabikes Raid TeamPorsche 959H2.B
701Paolo BedeschiDaniele BottalloTecnosportToyota Land Cruiser BJ71H3.B
702Lorenzo TraglioRudy BrianiTecnosportNissan PathfinderH3.C
703Dirk van RompuyChristiaan Michel GorisVR Racing by TH-Trucks TeamToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H2.B
704Pascal LebrunSébastien DuboisTeam Cap179Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H2.B
705Francisco BenaventeRafael Benavente Del RioRecinsa SportNissan TerranoH2.B
708Sebastiaan KlaassenPuck KlaassenNantes Prestige AutosPorsche MartinyH2.A
709Łukasz ZollMichal ZollDEXT P-Rally TeamPorsche 924H2.A
710Stefano CalziUmberto FioriMotortecnica Racing TeamMitsubishi PajeroH4.B
711Asier Duarte RodríguezLuis Barbero GarciaTH-Trucks TeamToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H2.B
712Barbora HolickáLucie EngováCzech SamuraisCitroën 2CVH1.A
714Ondřej KlymčiwJosef BrozKlymčiw RacingŠkoda 130 LRH2.B
715Joao Antonio de Almeida e Sousa CostaLuís Miguel GonçalvesTH-Trucks TeamUMM AlterH2.B
716Dominik BenKatarzyna MalickaCoco LocoSuzuki VitaraH3.C
717Maximilian LoderLaurence LoderVölkel Dakar TeamPuch 280GEH2.A
718Luciano CarcheriFabrizia PonsTecnosportIsuzu VehiCROSSH1.B
719Filippo ColnaghiStefano Davide FabianoTecnosportNissan TerranoH2.B
720Michel BlancFrédéric Benedetti4lpine RetroRenault 4LH1.A
721Vincent GonzalezAlbert Casabona VilasecaTH-Trucks TeamToyota Land Cruiser 90H3.C
722Andrea BelomettiLuigi DerossiDesert Endurance MotorsportNissan PatrolH3.C
723François-Xavier BourgoisPatrice AuzetTeam Boucou AssistancePeugeot 504 CoupeH3.A
724Paulo Sergio da Silva OliveiraArcelio CoutoTH-Trucks TeamUMM AlterH2.B
725Pieter PeerlingsSam Teugels924 Turbo TeamPorsche 924H3.A
727Giulio BertolliRenato RicklerR TeamMitsubishi PajeroH2.B
728Juraj ŠebaljIvan VidakovićTecnosportNissan Terrano IIH2.B
729Lionel GuyJohnny MauduitCapÔsuDLand Rover Range RoverH2.B
730François AbrialCecile AbrialTeam SSPToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H2.B
731Marcel QuirosJoan Cairó i FerrerBXS MotorsportLada NivaH1.B
732Cameron Moore Ingraham BaconMonica BuonamanoTecnosportNissan TerranoH2.B
733Panos MeyerMartin Bendig-KreutzerVölkel Dakar TeamMercedes 280GEH2.A
734Stefano SinibaldiSimona MorosiR TeamMitsubishi Pajero EvolutionH3.C
735Herve SolandtBrice Laborie-BrondinoRSOLand Rover Range RoverH2.B
736Michał HorodeńskiArkadiusz SałacińskiToyota Team ClassicToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H3.B
737Tomasz StaniszewskiStanisław PostawkaP-Rally TeamPorsche 924H2.A
738Jaap BolkMarcel van WortBolk Dakar Rally TeamMitsubishi Pajero EvolutionH4.C
739Daniel Albero PuigJose Luis Serra RocaTeam Un Diabético en el DakarToyota Land Cruiser 90H3.C
740Matías Rodríguez MartínSandra Guasch PlanellsBXS MotorsportLada NivaH1.B
741Damiano LipaniStefano CrementieriR TeamMitsubishi Pajero EvolutionH3.C
742Katherine LovemoreStephen LovemoreDreamy & The Pap SnoekToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H1.B
743Thierry ValtatGuillaume GeléeLa Compagnie SaharienneToyota HZJ78H1.B
744Andrew GrahamGavin NeateAllisportLand Rover Defender 90H2.A
745Dominique DurandRaphael VialTeam SSPToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H2.B
746Ugo BullesiMyriam ManzoniBefuel Bombelli TeamMitsubishi PajeroH3.B
747Teddy DelmonicoFlorian GarnierTFSL RacingToyota Land Cruiser HDJ100H4.C
748Giuliano BergoRobert BlaasR TeamMitsubishi Pajero EvolutionH3.C
749Jorge Pérez CompancJose Maria VoltaMadpanda MotorsportToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H3.B
750Mathieu KurzenAlexandre FatioGeco Classic Racing TeamMitsubishi PajeroH1.B
751Stéphane DocherLionel BalandreaudTFSL RacingToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H3.B
752Georges GarciaFrançois BeziacChancellor Team New ZealandLand Rover DiscoveryH2.B
753Adriaan BotmaRiaan BotmaMidstream OilToyota Land Cruiser HDJ80H3.B
754Sergi Fernández GarcíaPablo BenaventePedrega TeamMitsubishi L200H3.C
755Jörg SandPatrick DiemerVölkel Dakar TeamMercedes 280GEH2.A
756Stefano PicassoGianluca BiondiDesert Endurance MotorsportSuzuki VitaraH1.B
757Daniel VetterAnton FrutigerDesert CruiserToyota KZJ73H3.C
758Frank Uwe Juergen ThielHartmut WeigeltMontana RacingToyota Land Cruiser LJ70H2.B
759Frédéric LarreJérémy AthimonNantes Prestige AutosPorsche 959H2.B
760Olivier DelrieuChristophe ChabeufLa Compagnie SaharienneToyota HZJ78H1.B
761Marco Ernesto LevaAlexia GiugniR TeamMitsubishi PajeroH2.B
762Jan VinsTomáš HovorkaEnjoy MotorsportMitsubishi PajeroH2.B
763Giorgio CiresolaZiga ColjaDesert Endurance MotorsportToyota Land Cruiser 90H3.C
764Maxence GublinAnthony SousaBolides RacingLand Rover Defender 110H2.B
765Lorenzo FluxáXavi Riba FontLJS Racing TeamToyota Land Cruiser 90H2.B
766Michaël DenisPhilippe GarabeufLa Compagnie SaharienneToyota HZJ78H1.B
767Amadeo Roige BragulatJorge ToralPedrega TeamToyota KZJ73H2.B
768Carlos SantaolallaJan Rosa ViñasFactory TubToyota Land CruiserH2.B

Trucks

NumberDriverCo-DriverMechanicTeamVehicleGroup
900Marco GiannecchiniLuca MacriniAlexandre Manuel Azenha de FreitasR TeamIVECO EuroCargoH1T.B
901Pierre-Louis QueminOlivier GuilloryAntoine MargallTeam SSPMercedes 2636H2T.B
902Frank PuchouauEnric SeguraDorian BardeauTeam Boucou CompetitionRenault KeraxH2T.C
903Janus van Kasteren Sr.Toine VerkooijenHerman KeijsersClassic Team de RooyDAF 3300H2T.B
904Ermanno De AngelisAnnunziata Del GaudioAndreas CadeiDesert Endurance MotorsportIVECO ACM 80-17H2T.B
905Ignacio CorcueraDavid NaveiraFernando Garcia SagastaEuskadi 4×4Mercedes Unimog 424H1T.A
906Corrado PattonoPiermarco AcerniGianluca IanniMototecnica Racing TeamMAN 18-285H2T.C
907Thomas WolthausBastian KlausingLina van de MarsVölkel Dakar TeamMercedes 2636H1T.A
908Christian RuppertUrsula RuppertMatias RuppertRuppert MotorsportMercedes 1735 SKH1T.B
910Giuseppe SimonatoAlessio BentivoglioAngelo FumagalliTecnosportIVECO MagirusH2T.B
911Rafael LesmesJose Luis Ruano GarciaTabatha RomonDakar Por La VidaMercedes 1844 AKH1T.B
912Daniel SchatzGoerg GattingerFabian StaunerVölkel Dakar TeamMercedes 2636H1T.A
913Jaime Martinez CanteliNekane Abin BardeciSantiago Díaz de CerioTH-Trucks TeamMercedes 2636 A 6×6H1T.B
915Alexandre LemerayFabien LecaplainJean-Baptiste LecotTeam HoleShot CompétitionMAN LL90H1T.C
916Jordi GinestaYves DumontMarc NicautTeam HoleShot CompétitionRenault KeraxH2T.C
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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