Danilo Petrucci is ready to return to the Dakar. This time, on four wheels. In fact, the 47th edition of the most famous of the Rally Raids will see the rider from Terni take on a new challenge, alternating driving the Iveco truck of the Italtrans team with Claudio Bellina. Supported by navigator Marco Arnoletti. An experience we talked about with Danilo at the team presentation, which took place at Italtrans headquarters in Calcinate (BG).
"A few months ago this idea came to Prometeon to put me in the truck as a co-driver. So, I will be on board an Iveco of the Italtrans team, driven by Claudio Bellina, with navigator Marco Arnoletti," Petrux explained, telling us what awaits him: "The third one is a bit of a mechanic: he checks the parameters of the vehicle, the tire pressure. He's the first one down, when you get stuck, or you find someone else who maybe is in trouble. Then he does so many other things that I don't know and will have to do. That will be the beauty of it! That's what has fascinated me. When Claudio De Angeli and Roberto Righi of Prometeon proposed to me to go back to the Dakar, I immediately said, 'yes, I'm going!' I am very very happy, not only to have this experience, but also to know better the whole Italtrans group, which is made of very nice people."
Are they more relaxed at home, since you will not be participating on a motorcycle?
"Very much so, and so am I. It will definitely be much less hard physically, because I won't be riding and, although you will have to keep very active, you don't take risks and you don't struggle as much as you do on a motorcycle. Also because the Dakar will end on January 17, and on the 18th I will go right back to Italy, because after a couple of days we will go to Jerez for Superbike testing, and I will have to be ready."
What is the Dakar for you? What is its value?
"The Dakar is a beautiful experience for everyone involved. It's weeks in the desert, where you test yourself more and more, day after day. You have to face different things all the time, you never know what is going to happen to you and where you are going to go. For me it was a very strong experience, probably the most traumatic of my life, but in a good way: it was really a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm a little less on edge this time, though, because I already know a little bit what it's going to be like and doing it with a truck is much safer."
What fascinates and worries you most about this truck participation?
"The thing that worries me the most is how much I will want to drive it! I don't know how tiring it will be, but I know I'm okay, I have a lot of desire, and I'm already starting to train for next year. What fascinates me the most is to enter a new world: to understand how to navigate, how to drive a truck, and to have an experience that will definitely be cool. It's a shame you don't have a GoPro fixed in your head all the time, because you see some really beautiful things: from the landscapes to the speed at which a truck passes over a dune. For a mechanical enthusiast, it's the most beautiful place you can go."
Do you feel like a bit of a desert nomad?
"No. The tent? I still have it from the previous Dakar. The problem is to close it. I even saw a tutorial and I have to learn, but in the end it's easy. The problem is not that, but it is remembering everything. At night you really struggle. On the motorcycle, you feel unbelievably cold in the morning when you start and also when you stop, or when you come back from the stage. With the truck, being in the cockpit, it will definitely be much better. Then there is the radio and you can talk to the other two. It will definitely be a very good experience. Much less risky and tiring than last time."
Another nice thing is that you can get more sleep.
"Yes. The trucks are the heaviest vehicles, so they leave last and have human schedules. Also, in the first few days, the problem is that you leave very late and you risk arriving at night. Also because there is always the risk of trucks getting stuck on the dunes. Hopefully not, but everything happens in the race every year. I honestly never thought I would be able to get on board a truck, and sharing the crew with Claudio Bellina, who has done 17 Dakars, is something that can teach me so much. Then, there is Marco Arnoletti, the navigator, who knows everything that needs to be done navigational-wise and has made me a list of all the things I need to bring."
Would you still like to have more four-wheeled experiences in the future or will it remain an isolated thing?
"No, I would like to do that. Three years ago I would never have thought I would be able to do the Dakar on a motorcycle so soon. And I never would have thought this year that I could participate with the truck. Let's say these are not things that are planned, or that I'm looking for. But it is clear that I would like to, especially to make sure that I can return to the Dakar."
Maybe together with Iannone. You almost proposed it to him, but maybe together you wouldn't even make it to the first time control.
"Andrea and I talk a load of crap when we are together. But yes, it would be nice one day to do the Dakar with another rider. The great thing about the Dakar, though, is that most people are all enthusiasts. For so many of them, being there is a dream and it's nice this sharing of an experience."