2024 Rallye du Maroc: “Conditions at Dakar are very specific and cannot be simulated in Czech Republic” – Martin Soltys

The deserts of Saudi Arabia are not exactly comparable to the forests and military bases of Central and Eastern Europe. Naturally, that means Buggyra ZM Racing will be heading to the Rallye du Maroc in October as a dress rehearsal for the 2025 Dakar Rally.

“The conditions at the Dakar are very specific and cannot be simulated in the Czech Republic,” explained Martin Šoltys. “That’s why we are trying to fine-tune our equipment in Morocco to be 100% ready for January.

“In the cockpit, we are getting along perfectly. Tomáš Šikola, the engineer, knows every detail of the car which is a great asset when it comes to repairs. And Vlastimil Miksch is a great team-mate, so the atmosphere is excellent.”

He is leading one of two trucks entered by the team at Morocco, driving the Tatra Buggyra EVO 3 while Karel Poslední makes his World Rally-Raid Championship début as the driver of their Tatra Phoenix. The former is gearing up for what will be his seventh Dakar, most recently finishing sixth in the 2023 edition.

Šoltys was supposed to race the 2024 Dakar in the EVO 3, a new truck built by Buggyra, but was sidelined by an injury and replaced by Pascal de Baar. In Šoltys’ place, de Baar finished tenth in the Truck class.

Poslední, a longtime team member at Buggyra, did his first race at Baja Poland in August. He finished runner-up among trucks registered for the Polish Cross-Country Rally Championship behind Šoltys. His Phoenix has long been used by Buggyra, with Jaroslav Valtr piloting it in the 2024 Dakar to an eighteenth.

“The Rallye du Maroc will be a big challenge for me,” commented Poslední. “I have a lot of respect for sand dunes, so I’m glad that we’ll be doing some testing before the race. Gathering experience is key for me because I’m a rookie.

“The dunes are a crucial part of the Dakar, so it’s important to get used to them and improve our sand driving technique.”

Besides the trucks, the team also has their Red-Lined REVO T1+ entered in the Ultimate category for Aliyyah Koloc. Her father and team boss Martin Koloc took over the REVO in his first foray into cross-country rally driving in August while she was recovering from surgery.

The Rallye du Maroc is scheduled for 6–11 October.

“Traditionally, the Rallye du Maroc is a big test for all teams heading to the Dakar,” offered team head of communications Jan Kalivoda. “We will use the harsh desert conditions to test all the improvements made in our trucks, and the guys are looking forward to the challenge.”