The Big Shock! Racing team took two podium finishes – a second and a third place – during this year’s extremely challenging Dakar Rally. The diver Martin Macik, navigator Frantisek Tomasek, and mechanic David Svanda eventually earned seventh place in the overall rankings. The crew from Sedlcany are also in the lead in the T5 category classification within the World Rally-Raid Championship. The team sent two trucks to this year’s Dakar. Unfortunately, Martin Soltys’ crew did not finish the rally. The allied teams’ racing specials, Italtrans Racing and Project 2030, designed and built on the foundation of Martin Macik, Sr.’s twenty years of Dakar experience within his MM Technology project, also made it to the finish line. At this point, the team already has a clear idea of what the upcoming season will look like and what needs to be done before the next Dakar.

We will train more

The Big Shock! Racing is currently leading the T5 category in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, of which the Dakar was a part for the first time this year. Given the fact that only five crews have entered the competition so far, the team does not give much importance to the results. But, they surely see a big benefit in the opportunity to race throughout the year. “We are sending Charles, our truck, and also Nicias, the Project 2030 team’s truck, from Jeddah directly to Dubai, because we are racing in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from March 5 to March 10. It’s going to be another great experience for us, five days of racing in the dunes. We’ll be tuning the trucks as well,” Martin Macik said, looking forward to racing. He also added that his crew should take part in the Rallye du Maroc and, if the situation allows, the Kazakhstan Rally, too. At the same time, the team is considering participation in the Baja Aragon and Baja Poland rallies in the upcoming season.

The development goes on

Throughout the year, further developments will also continue within the MM Technology design centre in Sedlcany. The Big Shock! Racing and MM Technology team boss Martin Macik, Sr. has plans to build two more racing specials. “We have had good feedback from both our partners, the Italtrans and Project 2030 teams, on the trucks we have built and serviced for them. At the same time, we tested some innovations at this year’s Dakar. So, we have further insights for future progress. In particular, we will work on the reliability of the new engine improvements that we tested on Charles. Some of them didn’t really work, even though all the problems came from one big crash in Stage 2 or Stage 3. We will also be focusing on developing a new suspension for the cabin, and some changes will be made to the electronics as well. We have a lot of work ahead of us. This time, we don’t want to leave anything for the last minute,”Martin Macik, Sr. described. The mechanics, developers and designers will have their hands full again during the upcoming season, while also enjoying travelling around the world. Everything is geared towards ensuring that the crews and racing vehicles of the Big Shock! Racing team are as prepared as possible for the next Dakar Rally.

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