RAVENOL Motorsport: On the way to RALLY DAKAR 2022

One of the most popular racing events in the world will start in a little over a month – we’re talking about the RALLYE DAKAR. With the RAVENOL Motorsport / Walcher Racing Team (# 265), another German team will plunge into the adventure of the Dakar Rally. The 44th edition is scheduled for the beginning of January 2022, from January 2nd to January 14th.

RAVENOL Marketing Manager Dimitri Barichnowski and Markus Walcher (Dakar Rally Pilot)

Desert, sandstorms, unbearable heat and sometimes inhuman conditions – “This is hell on earth and paradise at the same time”, is how many Dakar rally participants describe it. From this year the Dakar Rally will receive world championship status for the first time. In addition to Formula 1, WEC, WRX, Formula E and the World Kart Championship, the legendary cross-country race is one of seven FIA World Championships.

Marketing Manager Dimitri Barichnowski: “The appearance as RAVENOL Motorsport / Walcher Racing Team at the Dakar Rally clearly shows how important the most important desert rally in the world is to us – it is an important part of product development. Our high-performance lubricants are used in the respective units under extreme conditions, such as those found in the desert of Saudi Arabia, and are put through their paces. We made a conscious decision to use a very eye-catching, modern design in the company’s own colors; nevertheless the traditional colors of the Walcher Racing team are still present. “

Markus Walcher (driver) is full of joy at the upcoming Dakar Rally: “Your fingers are already tingling. We are very happy to step with our new oil partner RAVENOL another milestone in our long history of the Dakar Rally. RAVENOL stands worldwide for premium products, many years of motorsport expertise and meticulous work on innovative and contemporary lubricants. We had already been able to extensively test RAVENOL Racing oil and other operating materials over several 1,000 kilometers in extreme conditions in several performance tests as well as at Baja Poland and the Rally du Maroc and had consistently positive experiences with them. “

Senior boss Gerhard Walcher about the importance of the Dakar Rally for him: “It’s clearly all about survival – that is, arriving,” smiles the experienced Dakar Rally driver and adds: “Team spirit, performance, Perseverance and a pinch of luck. These are the essential building blocks for success. “

Senior Chef Gerhard Walcher 

The 1980s when the Walcher Racing Team started at the Paris-Dakar Rally:

The history of the Walcher Racing team at the Dakar Rally goes back to the 1980s. From 1985 to 1988, team boss Gerhard Walcher started with self-made motorcycle combinations. “The many stories we had back then would fill books,” he says, remembering with a smile. In the pioneering days of the event, the focus was still on navigation and adventure, while the event has become more and more professional in the following years. Between 2004 and 2011, a total of 4 other participations with trucks followed for him, before his son Markus took a car to the starting line for his first two “Dakars” in 2018 and 2020.

About the emergency vehicle – Nissan Navara T1 VK56

Many years of development work have gone into the Nissan Navara T1 V8 RACE CAR, which sets the vehicle apart for the toughest cross-country races. The basis is a tubular space frame specially made for the tough conditions of the rally, paired with components of the highest quality, such as the 5.6 liter V8 engine from Nissan’s in-house motorsport department, or the sequential 6-speed gearbox from Sadev as well as special doubles – Reiger brand shock absorbers. The vehicle was built by the South African rally expert “Red-Lined”.