The last time Martin Koloc raced competitively, his daughter Aliyyah Koloc wasn’t even born yet.
With Aliyyah currently recovering from surgery that she underwent in late July, her dad will take over her Red-Lined REVO T1+ for this weekend’s Hungarian Baja. Buggyra ZM Racing crewman Vlastimil Miksch will serve as navigator.
While his daughter has a burgeoning career in cross-country rally as the 2022 FIA Middle East Baja Cup champion and currently racing in the World Rally-Raid Championship and Dakar Rally, Martin has never competed in the discipline himself. Much of his driving was done on pavement, which included winning the European Truck Racing Championship in 1995 and 1996, before retiring at the end of 1999.
Martin planned a return to the driver’s seat at the 2021 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series round in Grobnik, where he would have driven alongside Aliyyah and her twin sister Yasmeen Koloc, but was sidelined by shoulder and cervical spinal pain. David Vršecký, a longtime family friend and Buggyra team member, replaced him for the weekend.
“This year, I am actively involved in testing the car and contributing to its development,” Koloc explained. “As Aliyyah underwent a scheduled surgery, I have decided to replace her now in Hungary, so that the car development continues. Though I haven’t been racing competitively for over twenty-five years, I feel that I am an asset to the development programme. We made improvements, especially on the chassis.
“We completed eleven testing days together. So far, Vlastimil has only navigated in theory, so now he will put his knowledge to practice at race pace. We are taking into account possible mistakes, but we are not concerned about the result. The important thing are the race kilometres as we have some innovations on the car, especially on the chassis. We have practiced that he tells me about the turns ahead.”
Although Buggyra ZM Racing, which Koloc owns and oversees, is more than familiar with off-road motorsport, it will be the boss’ first time driving on such terrain. Hungary should also provide a rather tricky course for him as it takes place on a military training area known for its rocky yet technical layout.
“It’s a huge change compared to circuit racing,” he continued. “I’ve had to learn to think about what’s going to happen and not just what I can see at the moment. As I’m used to doing a lot of things at once, it was rather difficult for me at first to just focus on racing. But you have to give it 100 percent or you will have an accident.
“So far, I’ve only decided everything from my position as a manager. Now I will also know the long-distance rallies from the other side. This will give me a new perspective. I had to lose weight. It doesn’t seem like it, but there’s little room inside the car. Big muscles are useless here, you have to breathe. The other thing was the cervical spine for which I did special exercises, so it’s fine now.”
The Hungarian Baja is scheduled for 8–11 August. Although it is part of the FIA European Baja Cup, Koloc is one of three Ultimate teams registered for the Hungarian Cross-Country Rally Championship.
