Sainz wants to return to the Dakar

Former Dakar Rally winner Carlos Sainz says his early retirement from this year’s event has not dissuaded him from returning with Nasser Al-Attiyah’s Qatar Red Bull buggy project in 2014.

Having led after the opening stage, Sainz dropped out of Dakar with an engine fault.

His team-mate Al-Attiyah suffered a similar issue later in the rally and also retired.

Sainz says he is convinced of the buggy’s potential, but with only a small amount of pre-rally testing there was not much chance of a repeat victory.

“First of all, I would like to say it was nice to come back and I don’t regret that decision,” he said.

“We knew the project was very young and now it’s a matter to try and start working. If we start working now, I would like to come back.

“You can do the first year to learn, but to do the second year in the same fashion, I’m not so sure.

“Nasser is clever and he knows what we have to do, and in that way I will be more than happy to help him.

“We can make a strong team, but we need to start working now to have the prospect of a good result. We will make a plan at the latest next month.”

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/real-world-racing/3rdparty/sainz-wants-to-return-to-the-dakar

Al Herman Hans Herrmann François Hesnault Hans Heyer Damon Hill