There are few things left for Carlos Sainz Cenamor (Madrid, 61 years old), the oldest winner of the Dakar rally. He has just lifted the fourth Touareg with the fourth brand other than his, an unprecedented milestone in the test, and he does not seem to be threatening for now with his retirement. The Spanish driver, one of the great world icons of motor sport, said that “perhaps the next goal is to be the first grandfather to win the Dakar.” He made the comment a couple of years ago during a talk with university students, and this Friday, in the midst of the fervor of the celebration, he did not want to venture whether he will really try or perhaps opt for a retirement from the top. “At the moment I have something to celebrate the victory,” he said as soon as he got out of the car.
Tears could be seen in his eyes when, in the middle of the crowd, Sainz detected the presence of his family, a last-minute surprise. “They hadn’t told me anything. Imagine, I am proud that you are here, that you see this. All the work that there is at home, that they experience closely, has a reward,” he was excited. The competition and his people have been his two fundamental pillars. “It is one of the most beautiful moments of his life, and of ours. The whole family pushed together for this, and we are very proud of what he has achieved,” commented his son Carlos, a Ferrari driver in Formula 1, after hugging him at the finish line.
Those who know him best point out that the main key to Sainz’s success is his iron work discipline, the same one that he has been applying without exception since he was a teenager, when he won the Spanish squash championship at the age of 16. “The first thing is his motivation, his desire to run. That’s why he works everything he works. His preparation is key, both physically and mentally,” says Lucas Cruz, co-pilot in his four Dakar events. “For an elite athlete, talent is assumed, but not the ability to work. That’s where Carlos makes the difference,” adds Luis Moya, with whom Sainz won the two world rally championships in 1990 and 1992 that propelled him to stardom.
From the Audi tent they highlight their dedication to knowing and understanding even the smallest technical detail of the vehicle, another aspect that differentiates it from the majority of drivers. “He is the one who knows the car best, he detects any strange noise better than anyone else. He is able to always indicate the best path to the engineers,” says Joan Navarro, technical manager of your vehicle. Moya underlines Sainz’s pedigree as a vehicle developer: “His sensitivity with the car is extraordinary, he is known in the world of rallying for being the best test driver in history, and I dare say the same in the Dakar. Car that he has touched, car that he has led to victory.”
The great evolution and learning of the Madrid native in the Dakar has been the management of emotions. In such a long and demanding career, with unexpected surprises every day, he has known how to abstract himself from the past and focus his attention on the most immediate present. Going “day by day” has been his motto in the 2024 edition, but he learned a long time ago to block out frustrations and contain his impatient nature: “I have tried to learn not to go out faster the day after something happened to me.” “, he told this newspaper in a recent interview.
“I’m impressed. “Most people, at 61, would only think about retiring,” says David Richards, head of Prodrive who met Sainz during their joint time at Subaru in the nineties. After their alliance gave the Japanese brand its first WRC title in 1995, it has mostly suffered as a rival. Sainz’s career is so extensive that practically everyone in the caravan can tell one or another little battle with him as the protagonist.
“This guy, at his age, is incredible. If he feels like it, he can still achieve many more victories in the Dakar,” marvels Sven Quandt, head of the Audi project. “He always demands the most, he is very hard on himself, just as demanding as with the rest of the team,” he adds. “His secret is the same as mine, his passion for this,” says Stéphane Peterhansel, the most successful driver of the event and one of his great teammates and rivals. “All his life he has been a fighter, a born competitor, and saying enough is enough, stopping when you feel you can be on top, achieving a good result, is not easy. In this we are very similar,” compliments the winner of fourteen Touaregs.
As Sainz himself reminds this newspaper, he has earned the right to decide when a goodbye will come that is difficult to imagine now that he is still at the top: “At this point in my sporting career I have earned the power to decide how long I want to. be there and that that decision is respected.” Cruz, his navigator, slides the possible resolution of the puzzle. “He wants to continue fighting and dedicate himself to what he likes most,” he says. He has the rope to celebrate and to continue competing, it seems.
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