Two McRae 4x2s from the ProDakar Team finish the 2010 Dakar to win the new FIA T1 Lightweight Class

The McRae Buggies driven by Tim Coronel and Chris Leyds from the ProDakar Team crossed the Buenos Aries finish line in 50th and 54th positions, to scoop victory in the new FIA T1 Lightweight Class of the 2010 Dakar.

Alister McRae, Christopher Bibb and all at McRae Enduro, along with partners at Rage, congratulate Tim and Chris on a superb achievement. Apart from it being the first time in history a single-seat, two wheel-drive car has made it to the finish, with just over half competitors retiring, the statistics show it was also the toughest rally in the 31 year history of the world's toughest automotive challenge.

Conceived by the McRae team, with support from the FIA and the ASO, this new class was established in record time. ProDakar’s Chris Leyds is keen to point out that ‘Everyone should appreciate that the regulations were not confirmed until early May, and to get seven cars to the Dakar start was a major achievement. Bringing them to Dakar is such a short timeframe was always a bold step’.

'It was a big gamble’, commented Charly Rodriguez. 'We know we have a good concept. There was little time for the team to conduct proper testing, but it isn't as if you can find fesh-fesh and an altitude of 3-4000 m in Europe! Thanks to our die hard and indefatigable pilots we got two cars to the finish line. We’ve got a lot of things right, and importantly we know exactly what to fix and what to improve. It has not been easy, Murfy visited every day with vengeance, but we got the cars to finish every day, and that’s what matters'.

‘The main problem affecting the unique CVT-driven McRae 4x2s, was fesh-fesh invading the belt drive', said Leyds. 'The CVT works effectively in water, mud, and the dust of Dakar, but fine talc-like fesh-fesh defeated the engine bay's over-pressure system on occasion. But this Dakar-specific issue will be overcome’

‘All pilots have expressed faith in the project and remain most enthusiastic. We will be working closely to develop the cars through the 2010 season. There is no better test than the Dakar, and we now have the lessons from 30,000 of the toughest test kilometres imaginable; the best test any new product could face’, assures Bibb and Leyds.

‘We’re quite exhausted now’, said Chris Leyds summing up. ‘But we know that the McRae Buggy is both competitive and offers extraordinary value to drivers. The speed and agility of the car is fantastic, so much fun to drive and easy too. I can’t wait for the FIA Bajas through 2010’.

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