Montréal, July 12, 2013.– Racing in the Dakar, a 14 day race held this coming January in Argentina and Chile, remains a major undertaking, one that takes 12 months of physical, mechanical and logistical preparation. After participating in the Dakar in 2012 and 2013, the ALDO Racing team, led by driver David Bensadoun and co-driver Patrick Beaulé, is in the middle of that preparation, and will race in the Baja Aragon, a three day event based in Teruel, in the middle of the Spanish desert, on July 19, 20 and 21.
The team will test their new machine next Tuesday and Wednesday, and then race from Friday until late on Sunday. The 130 participating vehicles will cover more than 1000 km of hard and soft desert over the three days, with over 700 km of timed sections in full race mode to determine the winner.
Bensadoun and Beaulé will drive a purpose-built 4X4, a “Desert Warrior 3” developed specifically for the Dakar by specialists at Rally Raid UK. The racer uses a tubular chassis, a 275 hp turbo diesel that pushes out an irresistible 550 lb-ft. of torque, a six speed transmission that doles out the power to all four wheels, ultra long-travel suspensions all around, and a super-light fiberglass body.
The January 2014 Dakar race will mark Bensadoun’s and Beaulé’s third start in that event. In 2012, they were the first ever Canadian team to finish aboard a four-wheel vehicule. In 2013, Beaulé used a motorcycle to finish 62nd out of 196 entries, a fantastic feat for a first timer and amateur Dakar racer.
You can see the DW3 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MF7tDJQcn8.
Based on Baja Aragon results, the team will decide to test again or take part in another race this coming September.
Please contact Marc Cantin at m.cantin@netaxis.ca or at 514 337 0664 after July 26 if you require more information on our adventures.
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