Less than two months ahead of the start of the 2015 Dakar Rally (3-17 January 2015) X-raid, supported by MINI, has revealed its line-up for the 37th edition of the world’s most famous long-distance rally. A total of eight MINI ALL4 Racing with driver crews from ten countries will take on the ultimate motorsport adventure of the Dakar Rally. Defending Dakar champions Joan “Nani” Roma (ES) and co-driver Michel Périn (FR) will lead the Monster Energy Rally Raid Team while the experienced driver pairings Orlando Terranova (AR)/Bernardo “Ronnie” Graue (AR) and Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR) complete the line-up. There will also be five customer driver pairings in MINI ALL4 Racing cars built by the German-based X-raid GmbH.
For the MINI brand the 2015 Dakar Rally is the next chapter of a unique success story which culminated in three consecutive Dakar victories as well as three titles in a row in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, both from 2012 to 2014. The 2015 Dakar promises to be the most demanding edition since the Dakar moved from Africa to South America in 2009.
With several new and reinstated competitive stages the Dakar will be another adventurous trip for both drivers and teams. From merciless gravel sections to the breathtaking heights of the Andes, from the sweltering heat of the Atacama desert to the tricky soft dunes the competitors are often making their way into the unknown, facing unforeseeable obstacles. This is what makes the Dakar Rally the ultimate motorsport challenge. Starting out in Buenos Aires (AR) and traveling in a great loop across the South American continent through Chile and Bolivia back to Argentina, more than 9,000 challenging kilometres is the task at hand for all competitors.
In 2015, Nani Roma and his experienced co-driver Michel Périn (FR), a four-time Dakar winner himself, are aiming to defend their title in their black and green MINI ALL4 Racing. “Winning the 2014 Dakar Rally in the MINI ALL4 Racing was very special to me because it came exactly ten years after my first Dakar victory,” says Roma who also won the 2004 Dakar Rally on a motorcycle.
No less than five additional X-raid-built MINI ALL4 Racing driven by customer crews round off the MINI lineup at the 2015 Dakar Rally.
MINI ALL4 Racing 2015 Dakar Rally Lineup.
Monster Energy Rally Raid Team.
- #300 Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ES/FR)
- #305 Orlando Terranova/Bernardo „Ronnie“ Graue (AR/AR)
- #306 Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (PL/FR)
- X-raid MINI ALL4 Racing Crews.
- #310 Vladimir Vasilyev/Konstantin Zhiltsov (RU/RU)
- #314 Erik van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NL/NL)
- #319 Boris Garafulic/Filipe Palmeiro (CL/PT)
- #329 Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Anton Nikolaev (KZ/RU)
- #334 Stephan Schott/Holm Schmidt (DE/DE)
