Emánuel Gyenes is ready for the 2020 edition of Dakar Rally – stated the most successful Hungarian bike racer in the history of the race at a press conference earlier in December. The motorbike racer from Szatmárnémeti/Satu Mare is going to participate in the most famous rally race of the world for the tenth time and would like to win the Malle Moto category as well as finish within the first 30 out of the 158 bikers who will be competing.
The Dakar rule book simply describes the Malle Moto class as a “challenge created for Bike and Quad Riders without any kind of service.” What that means exactly is that competitors have to do everything themselves. They ride their bikes, service and prepare their bikes and receive no outside assistance throughout the event. This of course makes it harder for them to reach a good position in the race between all the bikers who enter, but Gyenes’ aim is still to finish in the first 30 out of the 158.
Gyenes also pointed out that after eleven years, the race is moving from South America to Saudi Arabia. Because of this, 75 percent of the rally will be over sand, which demands much more physical effort from the competitors, to which Gyenes commented:
“This is what Dakar Rally is all about.”
The weather conditions won’t make the competitors’ lives any easier either, since in January the daily temperature is usually around 25-30 Celsius, while during the night it can drop to as low as minus 5 ºC. The bikers will be facing a total of 7,500 kilometers of stages, including 5,000 km of “special” transit stages to each leg of the competition, five of them longer than 450 km. The Saudi Arabia race starts on January 5 and finishes on January 17.
Dakar legenda lesz 2020-ban Gyenes Emanuel
10. alkalommal indul Gyenes Emanuel a világ legkeményebb tereprali versenyén. A motor már úton van hajóval Szaúd-Arábia fele, Mani pedig január 1-jén indul a Dakarra. Együtt végeztük az utolsó simításokat a műhelyében 🙂
Publicată de M1 Szatmár pe Miercuri, 4 decembrie 2019
Interview with Gyenes about his 10th Dakar on the M1 Hungarian Television
Gyenes first appeared on the Dakar Rally back in 2007 when it was in Africa. Since that time, he has experienced very different fortunes in each race. From an initial 46th spot on his debut run, he managed a career high of 14th in 2016 and won the Marathon class twice. He was also forced to quit twice, including just last year. We hope that this time it won’t happen again and wish him good luck for Dakar 2020.
Emánuel Gyenes’ results from the first nine Dakar Rallies he participated in:
2019: Had to quit in Stage 8
2018: 23rd
2017: 17th
2016: 14th
2015: 21st (winner marathon class)
2012: 39th
2011: 17th (winner marathon class)
2009: Had to quit in Stage 2
2007: 46th
Update: I never thought I’d race ten times, says Dakar Rally Legend
Title image: Emánuel Gyenes in the Atacama Desert, Peru in January 2019. (Photo: Emanuel Gyenes – Mani Facebook)
