Dakar 2013: Foj returns as Race2Recovery aims to make history on Cooper rubber

Catalan rally ace, Xavi Foj, and the Race2Recovery team are just days away from embarking on what is arguably motorsport’s most gruelling challenge – the Dakar Rally – on Cooper 4×4 tyres.

Foj, one of the world’s most revered cross-country rally racers, is set to contest the Dakar Rally for an incredible 23rd time in 2013. The Spaniard will return to the South American desert on the same tyre that carried him to success in the production class in the 2012 Dakar Rally – the Cooper Discoverer S/T MAXX. Benefiting from 3-ply Armor-Tek3 construction, the Discoverer S/T MAXX boasts added sidewall and tread strength, while an angled ply construction absorbs and dissipates tyre impact forces that can damage a tyre in harsh off-road conditions.

Also on Cooper rubber for the 2013 Dakar Rally is the Race2Recovery team, which has set its sights on a place in the history books in 2013. Bursting into the spotlight after an appearance on BBC Top Gear in 2011, the squad has spent the past 18 months preparing for the ultimate test of skill and personal strength. Under the banner of “Beyond Injury, Achieving the Extraordinary” the team – which predominantly comprises injured servicemen from the UK and the USA – is aiming to become the first-ever disabled team to complete the Dakar Rally. The squad will field a total of four Land Rover Defender-based Wildcat race vehicles, which will all run on Cooper Discoverer STT tyres.

Cooper opines that the Discoverer STT is ideal for the mixed surfaces of the Dakar Rally course; the tyre’s aggressive tread design extends far down the sidewall to enhance soft traction and provide additional “bite” in rock climbing applications. 

The Dakar Rally covers 9,000 kilometres in 15 days and the race not only demands the utmost speed and accuracy from teams, it is also a test of navigational skills and consistency. Teams must display the highest levels of physical and mental stamina as the slightest misjudgement can prove extremely costly. While the teams are confronted with extreme fatigue as they make their way across the South American desert, their Cooper tyres will come into their own, offering increased abrasion resistance in tough, uneven terrain.

Speaking on behalf of Cooper Tire ahead of the rally, Sarah McRoberts described the demands the rally presents: “Dakar is infamously challenging – it’s a long and tiring course but it’s really the surface and the conditions that combine to make it such a high attrition race.

“Tyres are hugely important in all forms of motorsport and Dakar is no exception; soft traction and the dispersion of stones and other objects will be vital for the competitors and Cooper’s off-road offering is ideally suited to the Dakar Rally,” McRoberts added. “After such a successful event in 2012, it’s great to have Xavi Foj – who is something of a living legend in the rallying ranks – back on board for 2013 and we’re very happy to be supporting the incredible Race2Recovery team in their bid to make history.”

The 2013 Dakar Rally begins in Lima, Peru, on 5 January. Teams will traverse much of southern Peru, crossing the Andes and entering into Argentina before moving into Chile to cross the finish line in Santiago on 20 January.