GRALLYTEAM

R.C.

• Rui Carneiro won the Road to Dakar category on the inaugural 2020 Andalucia Rally, leaving him with very little time to take get ready for his ‘free’ 2021 Dakar entry.
• His mother was thrilled for him, while his father cautioned him that the entry fee was just the tip of the financial iceberg. Of course, dads always know best!
• The very first day of that 2021 Dakar turned out to be a bit of a disaster for Rui and his equally rookie co-driver Filipe Serra, with the Portuguese duo finishing a long way down the rankings after a succession of punctures. That put paid to any hopes of a decent overall result but they regrouped to get a couple of Top 10 finishes and one Top 5 in the T3 class.
• Rui has been dreaming of going back to the Dakar ever since, but he’s a busy man. Working for the family business, principally involved in textiles and healthcare, plus being married with a 5 years old daughter means he’s time poor.
• This year however he managed to negotiate some time ‘out’ to feed his motorsport obsession, entering the Rally Raid Portugual and the Rallye du Maroc alongside professional navigator Ola Floene, aboard a factory GRallyteam OTR.