Manuel Andújar only needed one race to prove that he can win in a side-by-side vehicle, but that was as a co-driver. In September, he will see if he can repeat the feat on the left-side seat.
Andújar will make his début as an SSV driver at the Campeonato Argentino de Rally Raid‘s (CaNav Rally Raid) Rally Raid San Rafael, where he is slated to drive a Can-Am Maverick R with Sergio Lafuente as his navigator. It will be his second go in an SSV after he called the shots for Juan Cruz Yacopini at the Rally Raid San Juan in June, where they won.
He is among many Quad riders who made the switch to SSVs following the news that their category has been dropped from the Dakar Rally from 2025 onwards. Andújar had claimed what turned out to be the final Dakar for his class in January, his second triumph after 2021, before clinching the World Rally-Raid Championship for Quads at the Desafío Ruta 40 in June.
The Argentine had contemplated a sabbatical from rally raids after winning the W2RC, but the opportunity to race alongside his friend Yacopini in San Juan came up and was too good to refuse.
Lafuente is currently the navigator for SSV driver Rebecca Busi in the W2RC. Like Andújar, he was a Quad rider prior to switching to cars, winning the DR 40 thrice as well as three Dakar stages.
Juraj Varga, also Quad-to-SSV migrant, ran his first race in the class at last weekend’s Hungarian Baja. Pablo Copetti, Rodolfo Guillioli, and former Dakar winners Josef Macháček, Ignacio Casale, and Sergei Kariakin are also among those who have made such a transition, while 2023 champion Laisvydas Kancius is now a navigator in the premier Ultimate class.
Prepared by Andújar’s 7240 Team, the Maverick R is the latest side-by-side from BRP and touted as the top such vehicle in the market today. It has enjoyed plenty of success on the American desert racing side, and has also seen strong performances in various cross-country rallies globally even though it is not set to be homologated by the FIA for W2RC competition until 2025.
The fourth and penultimate round of the 2024 CaNav season, the San Rafael Rally Raid runs on 6–8 September.
