His country has got too small for him. Egyptian off-road racing has been getting to know Tarek El Erian for a few years now.
The rising star of the Rahhala Racing team took a big step forward last week at the Egyptian rally, which he started with the aim to shine in the Dakar Challenge. Tarek’s quest took a turn for the best after his direct rival, Romania’s Costel Casuneanu, pushed too hard and somersaulted out of the race in stage 5. From then onwards, the Egyptian focused on defending his ninth place in the general classification to make sure he finished the 3,000 km race as the leader of the Dakar Challenge. The winner of the last race of this season is now ready for a new challenge which will begin in Lima, where he plans to swap his “Batmobile” buggy for a better vehicle to produce an even stronger performance on the dunes of the Atacama Desert.
Tarek El Erian’s objective in the 35th edition of the Dakar will be to reach Santiago de Chile. He will come up against the other winners of Dakar Challenge races in a mini-competition, with a total of seven drivers or crews qualifying to make their debut in the Dakar during this season.
2013 Dakar Challenge honour roll
· Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race: Evan Hutchison (SAF), cars
· DesafÃo Litoral: Roberto Recalde (PAR), cars / JeremÃas Israel (CIL), motorcycles / Francisco Bartucci (ARG), quads
· Taklimakan Rally: Zhou Tian (CHI), motorcycles
· Australasian Safari: Brett Cummings (SAF), motorcycles
· Pharaons Rally: Tarek El Erian (EGY), cars
More information on www.dakar.com
