THE WORLD Madrid

Madrid

Updated Saturday, January 20, 2024-23:15

  • Carlos Sainz A spartan preparation, a hybrid Audi and genius in the desert

  • Opinion A poker at 61 years old based on the pleasure of competing

  • Cristina Gutiérrez A feat against all logic

Carlos Sainz

, winner of the Dakar Rally for the fourth time, landed in Madrid on Saturday and with almost no time to breathe, he went to the Audi Center in the capital to offer a review of his experiences of the last two weeks in Saudi Arabia.

At 61 years old,

El Matador

still has the flame of another season at the highest level alive, perhaps with Ford, although for now he prefers to enjoy his success behind the wheel of the imposing RS Q e-tron.

Accompanied by his faithful

Lucas Cruz

, who has accompanied him in the right seat since 2015, Sainz admitted that the weight of age helps him savor his successes.

"When you are younger, life goes by faster, but when you are older, you become more aware of situations. The older you are, the more you enjoy it. And this victory has a very, very special value," he said in reference to the "hardest" of his poker in the desert.

"This year was very difficult, first I had to recover from the 2023 injury and analyze very well everything that could be improved compared to last year. It was a complicated year, because things did not go well neither in the Baja Aragón, nor in the Morocco Rally. The truth is that we face this Dakar with a bit of worry," he admitted.

At the height of Peterhansel

At the Madrid headquarters of the brand with the four rings, Sainz emphasized the "bravery" of the team led by

Sven Quandt

, which is ending its Dakar journey after three years.

In this way, the two-time world rally champion has equaled a record held by

Stéphane Peterhansel

, until now the only one to lift the Touareg trophy with four different brands.

To this triumph with Audi, Sainz adds those achieved with Volkswagen (2010), Peugeot (2018) and Mini (2020).

The support of his son Carlos, Ferrari driver in Formula 1, did not go unnoticed during the last days in Arabia.

Logically, the winner of the last Singapore GP celebrated the feat in the desert as he deserved, although his influence does not seem to have altered Sainz Sr. in any way.

"I am not more competitive because of Carlos' successes. I have always been competitive and the day that goes away, I will stop running," Sainz stressed.

"I ask the fans to respect the moment in which I decide to leave, as I decided in the rallies. I think I have earned the right to have that day respected. If I saw that I was suffering, I would not have fun and my heart would break "I'll decide, but I don't feel that way. At the moment I'm not going to retire," he said.

Loeb's gesture

One of the best moments of the call was when Sainz admitted to having suffered a bad dream after the famous 48-hour marathon around Shubaytah.

"I fell asleep on the plane. I had a nightmare after six straight hours of dunes, dunes and dunes; shit after shit. I dreamed that I was falling into a dune. All of this was a real exercise in discipline," he said.

Regarding the sporting gesture of

Sébastien Loeb

, who after his breakdown in the penultimate stage recommended Sainz from the field to slow down, Carlos was grateful.

"I saw a gesture, but I didn't know what he was really doing. The removed helmet made us think it was a major mechanical problem, but we didn't know how much he would lose. I saw the gesture on video and it is appreciated because it told us to calm down and that he had stayed there," he said of the nine-time world rally champion.