Sven Quandt, Managing Director of X-raid GmbH:
“With our X-raid YXZ 1000R Turbo Prototype, we have succeeded in taking a real step forward. We now have the right engine for our chassis. This was also well received by our customers and we will be starting with seven new YXZ 1000R. In the past ten months we have completed over 8,000 test kilometres and improved the side-by-side in many areas. In Andalusia we were able to show where we stand in the ranking. Now it is up to the riders to show what is possible at the Dakar
I am very proud of our line-up. I especially want to highlight that a total of five female pilots and one female mechanic are going to the Dakar. I am very pleased about this, as cross-country rallying has tended to be a male domain up to now. The team also includes Joao Ferreira, who won the European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas in the MINI JCW Rally. Ricardo Porém is also no stranger to us. Many eyes will certainly be on Ignacio Casale, who won the Dakar several times on the quad. We are also happy to see Ahmed Al-Kuwari, who was affected by technical problems last year, back
Hopefully at the Dakar we will see good fights for top positions and some surprises
Ignasio Casale
“I am very happy to be part of the X-raid Yamaha supported Team. I have raced with Yamaha throughout my sporting career and it has always been my dream to get factory support. I hope to win the Dakar again – this time in the T3 category and with Yamaha. X-raid has done an incredible job and developed a really competitive car together with Yamaha. Being in the X-raid team is something incredible. It’s a team with more than 20 years of experience and many first places. I hope I can be able to live up to that. I know that with Álvaro and the team we can achieve great things and be very competitive. I feel that the Yamaha side-by-side is very strong and competitive and can keep up with the best.”
Joao Ferreira
“I still can’t believe that I’m going to take part in the Dakar, it’s like a dream come true. For me it’s a great honour to have this adventure together with X-Raid and Yamaha. My main goal in this first Dakar is to finish, enjoy the race and continue learning. Fortunately, I will be competing with Filipe Palmeiro, who is a very good and experienced co-driver and will help me achieve our goals.”
