DAVID EVANS W
“There are Dakar legends further down the order”
e all know Mr Dakar, Stephane Peterhansel. The term ‘legend’ is often overused, but not in the case of Peter. He’s started Dakar 28 times. Twenty. Eight. He’s done it 10 times on a bike and won six and 18 times in a car, and he’s won seven.
He’s not just a legend in our eyes, he’s been recognised by the event itself. He’s a Dakar Legend. It’s official.
That’s enough about him. You’ll see and hear plenty about Peterhansel and his illustrious Peugeot team-mates in the next couple of weeks. So let me introduce you to one of the other five Dakar Legends: Xavi Foj. You won’t be hearing quite so much about him in the next two weeks. Which is why I’ve dedicated the rest of this piece to the Spanish hero.
Foj works at his family’s quarry near Barcelona and as an architect – his trained profession – when he gets the time. And in his spare time, he trains to compete in Dakar. The 58-year-old’s not exactly new to off-road racing, this week’s South American marathon will be his 28th consecutive Dakar.
Foj is the guy further down the field, living the dream, living on his wits and hoping and praying for a finish and a possible third Production Car class win. He’s driving a Cooper Tires-backed Toyota Land Cruiser, which was built by his co-driver and buddy, Nacho Santamaria.
“Dakar,” says Foj, “is my life concentrated into two weeks. The most important thing is to be physically in good condition, but it’s also about the mental condition and, of course, you have to have a good machine which is very reliable. And you need good team-mates to get you through a lot of daily problems.”
Arriving at Saturday’s start in Lima on the back of 13 finishes, Foj’s confidence of getting through the route should be high, but what lies in wait is shockingly tough for a privateer looking after his own car.
The Peruvian dunes take Foj and the co. down the Pacific coast to Bolivia for a rest day in La Paz on January 12, then it’s back into the Andes and into Argentina to San Juan, where they head east for the finish in Cordoba. In the meantime, they will have done five days’ competing at more than 3000 metres on a 5,500-mile route of which half is to be driven against the clock. And the sting in the tail – like Xavi and the rest of the heroic privateers need one – is a 325-mile competitive section from Fiambala to San Juan just three days before the finish.
“This is going to be a strong race,” says Foj. “This one will be remembered, it’s the 40th edition and I know the organisation prepared a very long race.”
There’s plenty of hype and chat about this being Peugeot’s last start, but it’s folk like Dakar 28-timer Foj who are the backbone of the event and keep it going year-on-year.
He’s a genuine legend.