Burnt-down Sherpa rises from the ashes to race in Dakar
27.10.2016
Miracles do happen! The incredible has just become reality. Renault Sherpa will be racing in the Dakar Rally! In mid-September fans were astounded by photos of the MKR Technology’s Dakar special burning to the ground during testing, taking with it all chances of a stellar performance in the Dakar. However, the team did not give up and so today they can announce that “The Sherpa is going to race at the Dakar!”
“It was devastating for everyone. Yes, we are always pushing the limit, the technology is under extreme strain, and that is why we’re striving to find the best solution and build better designs, so that we’re among the best despite the extreme conditions. Paradoxically, it can all go up in flames during a single event. It was totally unexpected, a massive blow, but as I said, things like that can happen. That is why I appreciate all the more what we have accomplished. During an extremely short time we managed to gather all our strength, people on the team were working hard as hell and the partners stood by our side. We joined powers to achieve something extraordinary. Indeed, the Sherpa will be racing at the Dakar,” confirmed Mario Kress, MKR Technology boss and chief constructor.
Anyway, in the middle of September there did not seem to be even a glimmer of hope this could work out. At the spectacular Renault Trucks event the Sherpa caught fire and burnt completely to the ground. Time and money, the two main variables, did not particularly work in our favour. Against all odds, the team started fighting and the Renault Sherpa literally rose like the mythological phoenix from the ashes. The truck first started on Wednesday. The team is going to live test the special to fine-tune it. “The incident brought us all closer together. No one wanted to accept that the truck which was fighting for an overall win at the Silk Way and finished on third place would not take part in the Dakar. We were working in two shifts, from sunrise to sunset, calling our sister company MKR Group for help and eventually, with the support from Mammoet and all our partners, we have achieved the impossible,” says Mario Kress beaming with pride .
As a result, the original plan is back on track. Starting field of the 2017 Dakar Rally will include three trucks from the Czech MKR Technology centre in Židovice. They will be piloted by the Dutch pilots from Mammoet Rallysport and Riwald Dakar Team – Martin van den Brnk, Pascal de Baar and Gert Huzink. On the track they are going to cooperate to achieve the best possible result. Sherpa will have van den Brink at the steering, as it was Martin who won the already mentioned bronze medal at the Silk Way with it. His fellow countrymen will get in the cabins of two Renault K520s. Huzink drove the model to a triumphant finish during his premiere at the Rally OiLibya in Morocco recently. “I believe that the fortune is going to favour us this time and that we’ve had our share of bad luck. Success in a rally does not lie merely in having a fast truck and great pilots at your disposal, but mainly in having a good portion of luck. Everyone on the team has proven they can put up a fight, struggle for a common goal and do not give up. One day, the Bedouin will be ours,” concludes Mario Kress with a hope for a big success.
Video
