“I had the best possible preparation for the Dakar”

As soon as his first appearance on the Dakar, Juraj Varga will be among the contenders for a podium spot if not better. The Slovakian has become a reference in the world of ATV riders capturing second spot of the FIM World Cup behind Alexandre Giroud, last year’s Dakar winner. Time has come to battle it out on the biggest and toughest of all rallies. The Dakar has indeed been his obsession for the last year. He could have decided to register for the 2022 edition but felt he wasn’t quite ready to compete with the best. Varga has therefore covered as many kilometres as possible on long rally-raids or shorter Baja events around the planet. The 30-year-old rider from Povazska Bystrica on his Yamaha 700 Raptor will certainly be one to watch on this 45th edition of the Dakar.

“I am incredibly grateful for the whole 2022 season, which was the hardest of my career. three continents, on all sorts of surfaces, in sand and sand dunes, in the desert, in forests, we have crossed mountains in our competitions, but we have experienced everything we could. The only thing missing was snow. Even though it was the most demanding season, it was also the best possible preparation for the Dakar that I could have had. I would like to especially thank my family for their patience. We have really been on the road more than enough this year. After Dakar we will try to make it up to all of them somehow”.