“Before, everyone helped each other; now no one stops

—You come from the motorcycle world…

—My dream was to become a motocross rider. I couldn’t be. Then I raced enduro when I did it for a few more years. I devoted myself to the world of cooking which I didn’t want to, but my father was very practical and told me: “Baby, go to the kitchen.” And then I had the chance, as an adult, to be able to practice this “hobby” that I couldn’t do when I was young.

—Before, being a cook was like a punishment and now it’s fashionable…

—It’s one of the professions that has changed the most. This year I’m celebrating my 30th anniversary in my restaurant and before it was a shame because parents wanted their children to be doctors, lawyers, engineers… whatever, but not cooks. And over the years that has changed. For fifteen years, it has been considered good work.

—And does it bother you that they know you as the Dakar cook?

— No, on the contrary, it excites me. They know me more as a cook than as a pilot, which should be the case. I live on it, so the day they know me more as a pilot, I’ll do something bad in the kitchen.

—Is there a parallel between riding the Dakar and running a kitchen?

—With what we worked this week in the restaurants, we did one and a half Dakars. There is a similarity: you cannot leave or abandon anything. You have to choose a good team, everything has to be prepared and you can’t fail in anything. You can’t leave deaths along the way, because if you leave deaths along the way, too bad.

—Yours is curious: succeed by making croquettes during the year and avoiding doing them on the Dakar…

— Exactly (laughs), he said it phenomenally. I already did one at the last rally and we have to try not to do them in the desert.

—Would you trade your success in the kitchen for a victory in the Dakar?

—I don’t need to change it because I think I can combine it. I am clear that winning a Dakar is impossible, I have to be realistic, but going to the Dakar to enjoy it is the bomb. That alone is a dream come true after watching it on TV my whole life.

— A scale, on one plate the Michelin star, on another plate the Touareg…

— I already have the Michelin star and the Touareg, the big one, it’s impossible, so this balance doesn’t exist. I think we can win a Touareg in our category, why not? We already came second last year. Then, in the general classification it is very difficult because on paper there are 52 cars better than ours. But we do not give in and we aspire to be in a good position.

— Do you carry a lot of food in the car?

— Not in the car. I have energy bars that I make that are really good called “Matchmore,” bars and gels. In addition, our car is very efficient and has no problems. We were never left out, hungry or bored. That’s why we didn’t bring anything, if we were afraid of spending the night outside, we’d probably take camping gas and a can of tripe…

– “I am leaving peacefully with Nandu. If we get stuck in the middle of the desert and we have nothing, if we see a camel, he will surely cook it well, so we won’t be hungry…”, intervenes his co-pilot, Marc Solà.

—In 2018, you raced on a motorcycle. Is the Dakar more authentic like that?

— It’s harder. You are alone, you sail alone, if you have a problem you solve it yourself… What surprised me the most was so many hours of solitude. I’m not used to spending so many hours alone with myself and I found a Nandu different from the one I knew.

— Did you like what you found?

— No matter how old you are, there are parts of you that you don’t know. I liked what I found, the good things and the bad. On a motorcycle it’s a different experience than on a car. Supermen race in cars, but on motorcycles, they are heroes.

—The solitude of the Dakar. And solidarity?

— The truth is that it surprised me a lot. He was lost. Before, there was more camaraderie and everyone helped each other. Now no one stops, it has gone from an endurance race to a speed race. Worst of all, it’s the little camaraderie that remains on the Dakar.

—When was the last time you sat on the couch to watch TV?

—Of course, I sit on the couch, I’m a couch potato, but my hours last 90 minutes. I have a rhythm where I don’t sit down for days but there are others where I spend an afternoon on the sofa and watching TV, like everyone else.

—How long do you see yourself racing the Dakar?

“I don’t see myself like the other drivers who have been racing this race for 29 years. I’ve done it before and this year it would be stupid not to take advantage of the fact that we had sponsors, a team and a great co-driver. But I don’t see myself doing the same thing with this car for three, four or five years. Or next year, we will go with a better car, with a T1+, or look for other challenges like racing the Dakar in a truck. I think it’s one of those things I’d like to do. And I usually do what I love, if I can, you might see me in a few years or three with a truck.