Carlos Sainz Cenamorknown as “El Matador”is one of the largest rally drivers ever. Thanks to his long career, he is one of the most loved and well-known characters in the world of motorsport. Recently, he got his fourth victory personally at the legendary rally raid race, the Dakar, becoming the oldest winner ever. Furthermore, he gave the Team Audi the first victory for aelectric car with range extender.
Carlos Sainz, his rally career
Just eighteen years old, in 1980, Carlos Sainz he debuted in the Spanish championship. In the early years, he matured and acquired experience, until he achieved his first important success, victory in the 1987 Spanish championship. In the same year, he debuted in the world championship at the wheel of a Ford Sierra in the Portuguese Rally, immediately achieving another success in the opening Superspecial.
In the 1988, replicated the success in the national championship and participated in several world races with the support of Ford. Thanks to the good results, it attracted the attention of Toyota, who assigned him an official car in 1989 with the aim of countering the dominance of Lance. Carlos confirmed his speed, taking three podiums and a good eighth place in the final championship standings.
The duo Sainz-Toyota he proved himself mature in 1990, with his first victory in rally in Greece, thus also becoming the first Spaniard to win a world championship. He also achieved successes in New Zeland And Finland. In 1992, he won his second world title after a close fight with Didier Auriol of the Lance.
After a poor 1993 season with Delta, he moved to Subaru in 1994. In 1998, upon returning to Toyota, he won his first race, the Monte Carlo rally, and competed for the title with Makinen until the last race. However, an engine failure three hundred meters from the finish line prevented him from winning the title, giving it to the Finn.
In 2000, with the Ford Focus WRCclimbed to the third step of the final podium, worsening in 2001 and finishing third again in 2002. The transition to Citroën 2003 saw him finish third again in the world championship, while 2004 ended his last full season in fourth place.
Carlos Sainz at the Dakar
Since 2006, Sainz has debuted in rally raids, participating in the Dakar with the Volkswagen. He immediately showed great speed, but suffered due to the reliability problems of the German car. He accumulated numerous stage victoriesuntil arriving at the first overall victory in 2010, in which he led the pachydermic to the final victory Tuareg.
He participated in the other Dakar 17 timesalso conquering the general classification in 2018 on Peugeot, in 2020 on Mini Buggy and, as already mentioned at the beginning, in 2024 on Audi.
In his palmarès it is also necessary to mention the Rally Grand Slamor the victory of all 5 classic races on the international scene, i.e Montecarlo rally, Safari, Tour de Corse, Mille Laghi and Rac.
He has been married since 1992 to Reyes Vasquez De Castro and his son, Carlos Sainz Junior, is the well-known F1 driver currently in the Ferrari Team.
The teams Sainz raced for
Carlos Sainz has raced for several teams throughout his motorsport career. Below are the main teams he competed for in different categories:
- Rally:
- Ford (1987-1988, 1996-1997): He began his rally career with the support of Ford, achieving notable successes, including Spanish titles in 1987 and 1988.
- Toyota (1989-1992, 1998-1999): He competed for the Toyota team at various times, winning his first world championship in 1990 and achieving significant success in 1992.
- Subaru (1993-1994): After his time with Toyota, he raced for the Subaru team in 1993 and 1994.
- Ford (2000-2002, 2006-2008): He returned to race for the Ford team, achieving success and notable placings.
- Rally Raid/Dakar:
- Volkswagen (2006-2009): He debuted in rally raids with the Volkswagen team, participating in the Dakar and achieving stage successes but without winning the race.
- Peugeot (2016-2017): He competed with the Peugeot team in rally raids, winning the Dakar in 2018.
- Mini (2019-2021): He drove a Mini Buggy in the 2020 Dakar, winning the race.
- Audi (2022-2024): drove the Audi RS Q e-tron from 2022 for the Dakar, winning the 2024 edition.
The most important results in Carlos Sainz's career
Carlos Sainz has achieved numerous significant results in his automotive career in rallies and the Dakar. Below are some of the most important findings:
Career in the World Rally Championship
- World Cups won: 2 (1990, 1992)
- Rallies held: 197 (196 starts)
- Rallies won: 26
- Specials won: 757
- Podiums: 97
- Points obtained: 1,242
Career in the Dakar Rally
- Edition played: 17
- Podiums: 5
- Wins: 4 (2010, 2018, 2020, 2024)
Read also:
→ Final report on DAKAR 2024
→ ABSOLUTE DAKAR 2024 ranking
→ Program 2024, route
→ All the news on the Dakar 2024
→ Everything about the Dakar Rally
→ Race car driver
→ What do you think? Drop by discussions on the FORUM!
#Carlos #Sainz #career #victories #Dakar
