Most people are eyeing retirement at 61 years of age; for a professional racer that retirement might happen at 31, forget about 61. But two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz Sr is built a little differently. Yes, his WRC Championship years are well behind him (1990 & 1992) but he is still trying to win the Dakar for the 4th time. This time he hopes to get the win in an electric race car.
This is sort of a last chance for Saniz, as the factory Audi will drop out of the Dakar after 2024, their third attempt. After that, Audi will focus their resources on joining Formula 1 (where Carlos Sainz Jr races) joining the competition in the 2026 season.
The Spaniard has legions of fans who’ve cheered him through two World Rally Championship titles, 26 rally wins, and even the Spanish Squash Championship back in 1978. Many consider him the greatest rally driver ever, although nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb might argue that point.
Sainz has recovered from the two fractured vertebrae suffered on the 2023 Dakar, and his Audi RS Q e-tron has a good shot at victory against the Toyota and Prodrive 4x4s. After Dakar wins with VW (2010), Peugeot (2018) and Mini (2020) inspirational ‘El Matador‘ will try to take victory with a fourth different manufacturer proving it ain’t the car; it’s the driver.