Laia Sanz: "A year ago everything seemed dark and now I'm arriving at the Dakar better than ever"

BarcelonaA few days ago, the 300 workers at the Ebro Free Trade Zone factory gathered to say goodbye to Laia Sanz (Corbera de Llobregat, 1985). The Catalan driver is heading to Saudi Arabia to prepare for her sixteenth Dakar Rally, the world's most demanding rally. This year's edition will be unlike any other. For the first time, Sanz will be able to compete in the top car category, the T1+, as she will be driving a top-level vehicle prepared by Ebro. Sanz's enthusiasm is shared by the brand, founded in Barcelona in 1954, which for decades manufactured tractors, trucks, and vans. It then faded away, nearly disappearing, but has been reborn by making cars, and now, with this leap into competition, with the Ebro S800 XRR, produced at the plant inaugurated a year ago.

Sanz returns to the Dakar Rally accompanied by her inseparable co-driver Maurizio Gerini, recently recovered from appendicitis. The Italian missed the Rally of Morocco, an event in which Sanz tested the new vehicle for the first time. "It was important to go to Morocco to know where we stand, to test the car and adapt. I've been competing with two-wheel drive for many years and now we're making the leap to a four-wheel drive car; it's a challenge," she says, and the feeling was very positive. "I think we can improve performance a lot," she explains.

In a year, everything can change. Just 12 months ago, Sanz was struggling to get to the Dakar Rally, finding it difficult to secure the support needed to organize a good project. She managed it, but the adventure didn't go well because the race officials wouldn't let her continue in the competition since a safety bar had shifted by two millimeters. "Having to quit because of two millimeters was very hard. I couldn't sleep. It was a very difficult moment, as it was a Dakar where it had been a real struggle to even get to the starting line, and we had a good prologue stage, despite having fewer resources than the others. But luck wasn't on our side. Now I think that these kinds of situations can work in our favor," she says, making you appreciate the opportunity.

A year later, she will be able to compete in the top category with a new team that has placed its trust in her without hesitation, Ebro: "Since I made the jump from motorcycles to cars, I've been chasing this moment. I have experience in less competitive two-wheel-drive cars; I think these years have been a great learning experience. Now we have four-wheel drive in the schools. It's very competitive and physically demanding, but I'm ready," she says. "I suppose bad things happen for a reason, and what happened a year ago meant I didn't relax and kept working. Now I have a great project, which gives me peace of mind. I can focus on driving and competing, which is what I've always wanted. I'm arriving at the Dakar in better shape than ever," she adds.

But in this Dakar, the goal "is to be prudent." "We're a young project, and we have to take it step by step. After what happened last year, we'd be making a mistake if we were too fast. The first few days will be very challenging, with a lot of rocks along the route. And we'll have to gradually increase the pace and avoid making mistakes," says the driver from Corbera de Llobregat, who would advise young people "not to."

In Ebro, they're approaching the Dakar with enthusiasm. “This car is the flagship of what we are building here,” says Pedro Calef, CEO of the company. “When Laia takes the start on January 3rd, she will not only be representing a sports team, but also the capability, tenacity, and talent of each of the employees who have made it possible for Ebro to become an industrial reality once again. Today is a day for us all to celebrate together.” Ebro began producing cars in the former Nissan plant in Barcelona’s Zona Franca less than a year ago. It was the rebirth of a brand born in the 1950s but with more distant roots, as its origins lie in a factory founded by Ford in 1923 on Avenida Icària in Poblenou. In this new era, Ebro has already produced four different models, in addition to this adventure in the world of motorsport with the support of brands such as Audax Renovables, KH-7, and CA Autobank, placing their trust in one of the most promising female drivers. Experienced Dakar Rally competitors with 15 participations, 11 on a motorcycle and 5 in a car. Considered the best female driver in the history of the event in the motorcycle category, with a ninth-place finish overall in 2015, Laia Sanz will attempt to surpass her fifteenth-place finish in the car category in 2024, her best result to date. She will do so with a new project and greater enthusiasm than ever.