7,500km on Dakar with zero punctures – Falken Wildpeak M/T tyres pas stern test

Falken Wildpeak MT

The Falken Wildpeak M/T tyre has passed one of the most gruelling off-road tests in motorsport. The tyres ran 7,500km on the 2022 Classic Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia with zero punctures for the Alves Bandeira/TH-Trucks’ ex-factory Ssangyong Musso. Competing in the 97 Intermediate Average category, the team joined more than 100 entrants on the two-week Dakar Classic, a challenge for pre-2000 rally cars and trucks within the Dakar Rally.

The Alves Bandeira/TH-Trucks’ Musso had a near-faultless run to 80^th overall of the 121 classified finishers, battling across thousands of kilometres of tricky, variable terrain in scorching temperatures from Ha’il to Jeddah.

The team’s rebuilt and restored Mussos survived the perilous set of stages en route to the finish, bettering the performance of the Ssangyong works team in 1997, when the Musso managed to complete just three stages.

The team’s Falken Wildpeak M/T tyres have offset shoulder blocks for superior traction off-camber and on rugged terrain and an aggressive upper sidewall design to protect against sharp debris.

“The main difference between Classic Dakar and the main event is that we run on less sand and on more off-piste and rocky tracks,” explained the project leader and driver Joao Costa. “Even though the average speeds are lower, the tyres are still pushed to their limits.”

Making it to the finish with no punctures proved to be a real accomplishment, as other teams entered in the event struggled with their tyre allocation throughout.

“One team we know ran out of stock of their tyres before the rest day,” Costa explained. “Yet we completed all the stages without any penalties for exceeding stage time limits. We fulfilled our ambitions in this tough race. We had fun, didn’t get hurt and brought finisher medals home.

“I was sceptical about the Falken Wildpeaks before the event but after Stage 2 I knew it was a good choice. It was a real icing on the cake to complete 7,200km of running, 2,612 kilometres of which was on special stages, without a tyre failure.”

The team now plans to compete on the 24 hours of Fronteira, the hardest endurance off-road race in Europe, where it hopes to make the finish for the first time.