Astara aims to compete in Dakar 2023 in the most sustainable way

MANILA: Mobility service provider Astara unveiled its plans for the upcoming Dakar Rally, which will take place in Saudi Arabia in January 2023. The Astara Team is composed of a group of elite drivers, including Laia Sanz, Maurizio Gerini, Carlos Checa, Marc Sola, Oscar Fuertes, and Diego Vallejo. They will all be driving the Astara 01 Concept, which has further enhanced performance to complete the Dakar with the least amount of carbon emissions possible, striving once more to be the most environmentally friendly vehicle and team in the competition.

Eight support vehicles and a team of more than 30 people will collaborate to show that technological excellence and passionate competitiveness are fully compatible with an environmentally friendly approach and diversity.

This is the second year of a very ambitious, long-term effort to apply Astara's values in the most challenging competition in the world. Astara's mission is to “Enable People Go Further” by introducing the smartest, most efficient technologies and solutions, such as the e-fuel, to provide the most environmentally friendly mobility solutions for all needs.

“I am very excited to be part of this project, with a much more sustainable vehicle, a team concerned about reducing and offsetting its carbon footprint and committed to diversity... I am confident that Maurizio and I will do a great job... and so will the whole Astara Team,” Sanz said.

“Last year was just a contact point. Now, with Astara Team, we have the means to aspire to more ambitious results; that's why Marc Sola and I have prepared ourselves thoroughly,” Checa stated.

“I'm very excited to be back at Dakar Rally, which is always a huge challenge, but we are ready to overcome it with flying colors,” Fuertes added. “Besides, I have my co-driver Diego Vallejo on my right and that gives me extra confidence.”

The Astara 01 Concept will use e-fuel to power itself, just like last year, but this year it will consume 90% of it, up from 70%. Furthermore, the vehicle has undergone several changes that are huge upgrades from a competitive standpoint, such as reduced weight, more power, and the capacity to carry a third spare wheel.

Following standardized measurement protocols, which were expanded to scopes 1, 2, and 3 in 2023, the team will measure, report, and compensate for its carbon impact at the end of the Rally. In other words, the team's direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions as well as other indirect emissions produced by third parties involved in the event will all be examined.

Therefore, the Astara Team is coming back with the goal of becoming the most sustainable and eco-friendly team competing in the Dakar Rally once again.

Astara Team also introduces new commitments, including its focus on diversity, with a significant presence of women in the team, with Sanz at the front and professionals like Jessica Nebra, who has more than 25 years of experience in the racing industry, and Iona Hernandez, who is still young but has experience in karting, Spanish and German touring car championships, the IMSA, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the European Le Mans Series, the World Endurance Championship, and the Dakar.

SMC Motorsport continues to be in charge of the technical aspects of the Astara 01 Concept, with Gonzalo de Andres serving as the main team leader.

Saudi Arabia will host the Dakar Rally for the fourth time in a row. It will begin on December 31, 2022 on the Red Sea coast near Yanbu al-Bahr and end on January 15, 2023 in Ar-Dammam on the Persian Gulf coast. The route will cross Saudi Arabia from west to east and will return to the Empty Quarter, Rub al-Khali, the largest continuous sand desert in the world.

Photos from Astara

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