Joan nani Roma (Folgueroles, 1972) faces its 28th Dakar rally, the 19th by car with the eighth different brand. The wheels of a Mitsubishi, a BMW, a Nissan, a Mini (with which he was champion in 2014), a Toyota, a Borgward, a Hunter and now a Ford Raptor have passed through his enormous hands. A 360 HP “device” with an engine based on the Mustang’s 5-liter Coyote V8, which gives it good vibes.
Objective, the Tuareg
“No brand has ever won the Dakar rally on the first try, but we are here to change history”
It’s a bit of a bad seat.
Eight brands, you say? Not bad. That is what has helped me learn different ways of making cars, it has given me wealth. It’s the coolest thing in this life: I like to learn.
What does the Ford Raptor T1+ give you compared to everything you’ve driven?
It is a car that is 10 steps ahead of the previous Ranger from 2024. It is very different in everything. With this we have been able to work from scratch and get involved with the geometries, the set-up… It is what makes the difference.
As if I had given birth to him…
It would be daring, but I have put my stamp on it: we have given advice to the engineers on how to make the car, because most of them did not come from the Dakar, but from the WRC rallies. It’s hard for them to understand: the WRC involves 20-minute stretches at full throttle and in the Dakar we spend hours on special stages and links.
Nani Roma and his co-pilot Àlex Haro
That’s why it has had so much impact on the comfort of the cabin, right?
Exact. Comfort is where you most clash with an engineer, who only thinks about performance. We have achieved more interior space, a few centimeters to be more comfortable, better vision and better temperature. Think that we reach 60ºC. We have put in some air conditioning pipes…
What is the objective of this Dakar 2025? Assault the title or lay the foundations for 2026?
Since the first Dakar that I became leader, I have come out with the label of candidate for victory, and I like to wear it. But for me winning is not very important, what worries me most is doing a job well done. If we are what we have to be, in the end we will do well. The most complex undertaking is going for the title this year. No brand has ever won the Dakar on the first try, but we are here to change history. If it doesn’t go well, in 2026 we will try again.
Ford and M-Sport have formed a powerful team with you, Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekström, in the image of Audi last year. Do you want to reproduce that teamwork that the Tuareg gave you?
Each brand is different. The drivers have to accept the team’s approaches, but no one controls us in the middle of the desert. We must know if we need to help, with intelligence and wisdom.
A fellow champion
“Having Carlos Sainz as a partner does not affect me. “We understand each other well and we are similar”
How does it affect being a teammate of the current champion – and even more so a character like Carlos Sainz?
It doesn’t affect me at all. I have been racing for so many years and I have had so many good companions… Carlos had been one, but I was with Peterhansel, a friend and companion, who came with 14 Dakars…
Is Sainz a friend and colleague?
What is friend? Friend-friend, how many do we have? With Stéphane we had a long-standing friendship, an affinity for motorcycles. We have a friendship with Carlos because we understand each other very well. We are similar in the way we approach the race, in the passion we have, in the demands we place on ourselves and that we ask of others… We make a good tandem.
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Is there a commitment with the team to help the teammate who is better classified?
I think so and that’s how I understand the Dakar. Last year it was proven: Carlos, without the help of Stéphane and Mattias, would not have won. I think we are all clear about it.
What relationship do you have now with Sainz?
Flawless. We called each other, we talked about the car, a little about football. I called him about the 0-4 and he told me about the Champions League, and here we clap…
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How do you face this Dakar after having overcome cancer and your son’s accident? Jaume Palau, his coach, says that he has almost recovered the form he had before the operation (March 2022).
I feel very well. I have had to work a lot, more than anyone imagines, with double training sessions. With Marc’s story [su hijo] I arrived in very poor shape because I have spent many months without training; I had other priorities. The older you get, the more it costs.
On May 11, Marc suffered an accident at the European motocross championship in Lugo. How has it influenced your career?
It has been a great personal and family blow. But professionally it has affected me less than I thought. I thought it would cost me a lot. In the first tests of the Raptor I was worried about the level of concentration it would have. But the brain makes a chip change and I am super focused on the car. And when I’m with Marc I’m only for him.
Nani Roma faces his 28th Dakar
After 30 years competing, saving almost all of them, does having a 16-year-old son who becomes a paraplegic in a race make you consider many things?
I haven’t rethought anything, but you think “what a bitch!” With all the accidents I’ve had, I would have to be at least like him, if not in the other neighborhood. It is what it is. We cannot change the past. I considered postponing my race if I had not felt capable of competing. If I couldn’t concentrate I would have quit.
What lesson is Marc teaching…
Yes, the guy is amazing, how he has dealt with the situation. He suffers from paraplegia, from T3-T4 (thoracic vertebrae) down, but the injury has subsided, he is regaining sensitivity and strength in the abdominal part, he is working very hard, at school and at home in the gym. He is very motivated. It is a great life lesson that he gives us every day. There are difficult moments, but I know that he will get ahead in life because he has a good attitude, he has talent, he has a sense of humor, he is a hard worker, he is smart. And we are at your side.
If he wins the Dakar…
I already know who I’ll dedicate it to…
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