YANBU (Saudi Arabia). – It’s impossible to think about YANBU’s smile and knowing look Juan Cruz Yacopinithe 26-year-old Argentine pilot facing a complex health picture after the accident that changed his life a week and a half ago. Everyone asks about himArgentine or not. At every turn you can hear someone talking over him, pleading for the best, or accompanying the moment in any way possible. For the first time in almost five decades of history Dakar Rally An absent pilot is such a protagonist.
On the other hand, everything is prepared in front of an enchanting Red Sea bay in the north of Yanbu. There are the coastal hotels that provide images rarely seen at the races, with water activities that multiply as the sunset paints an enchanting gold on the horizon. Meanwhile, on the other bank, further away from the city, the large stage is being built, where more than 430 vehicles and more than 800 crew members will pass at the start. While The show begins the 48th edition of the world’s toughest raidwhich runs from this Saturday to January 17th, the eyes of the participants cannot hide that The axis these days was placed on Juan Cruzthe one who is not here today.
The last hours of rest with his friends from Mendoza at a campsite in El Carrizal on December 19th created a turbulent climate. A severe multiple trauma sustained when jumping into the water in a shallow area caused the Cuyo athlete to suffer spinal shock and the compromised cervical vertebrae required surgery, which was carried out 11 days later in the provincial capital. During this time, the motorsport environment was revolutionized Encouraging messages that came from everywhere.
His friends from the rally raid sent moving greetings and because Yacopini worked with the best in the world, surprising videos arrived, like one from the Spaniards Carlos Sainza motorsport legend teaming up with the Argentinians in Saudi Arabia. Below is Manuel Andujarwith which Juan Cruz enjoyed playing football games on video game consoles on the days when he finished running early. Also, The time it took for Kevin Benavides to remember that he had also recovered from complex injuries and that you should never give up. Interestingly, Andújar and Benavides, who come from ATVs and motorcycles respectively, received driving tips from Yacopini when they made the step up to the car. A gesture that shows the modesty of the most famous young man in the Dakar.
“From here I would like to convey all the love to the Sainz family and all Spaniards” said the 63-year-old Madrid patriarch as he prepared for a new challenge in the Dakar. “We support you until death, we think of you and.” I am confident that you will recover“, he said in an emotional video to Juan Cruz. From the Iberian Peninsula, his inseparable sailor and friend Daniel Oliveras opened his heart when he tells El Diari de Girona what he feels: “The fact that he injured himself so badly three days before the Dakar trip because of such a good development makes me sad. And although it is a shame not to take part in the race that would have been my twelfth Dakar, it is even worse that my partner is injured in this way.” Together they fought among the best, they shared the routes with the characters.
chat for THE NATION from a very close place, Joan ‘Nani’ Roma He openly referred to this: “The reality is that there will be moments of terror, moments where you wonder why things happen. But you have to keep going.” The Barcelonan lives this every day because his son Marc Roma suffered a spinal cord injury in a motocross accident in May 2024. “I’m at a loss for words because we experienced a similar situation at home a year ago,” he remembers. “You have to think that he is young and Now come moments of struggle, like my son didto train and progress,” he added.
Kevin Benavides won this race twice, recovering from an accident that almost cost him his life. An injury to the radial nerve makes it impossible for him to return to racing the way he wants in the motorcycle category and the man from Salta opted for cars. “He had a champion attitude with me“, Kevin remembered and told his anecdote with Yacopini: “He recently invited me to Mendoza to train with the UTV. I thought I would watch him drive; But he gave me his car, sat next to me and started teaching me, for which I will be forever grateful,” he noted.
Without hesitation, everyone joined the campaign launched by Oliveras. Distributing stickers that read, “Be strong, Juan Cruz Yacopini.”“, on motorcycles and cars. Oriol Menaanother navigator on the team, walked around the camp with the stickers in his hand and talked to everyone. There was no need to explain what it was about: everyone already has their sticker.
Juan Cruz made his debut at the Dakar in 2021 He competes alongside his father Alejandro. They ended the tour after re-registration (abandoned in stage 3), but this experience helped the son achieve his goal of finishing 20th in 2022. Even better was 7th place in 2023, when the collaboration with Oliveras started in the right place. The complications of 2024 left him in 28th place and the breakthrough came in 2025, his hallowed season, when he repeated his best result from the Dakar (7th) and consolidated himself among the best with the Toyota GR Hilux. Last year Yacopini and Oliveras won five times (Jordan, Italy, Spain, Qatar and Dubai) and a second place (Saudi Arabia), the enabled them to win the Bajas Rally World Cupa short-lived racing tournament. “When the planets align, when work and trust meet, days like this happen,” the man from Mendoza said in the afternoon, as his father wept at the podium and hugged the new monarch as the Argentine anthem sounded.
After this milestone agreed to join Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa as an official driverone of the strongest teams, with the improved GR Hilux IMT Evo. He traveled to Uzbekistan to receive the International Automobile Federation (FIA) award at the same gala where Lando Norris and the world champions of all other disciplines were awarded the Formula 1 trophy. Sporting a classic outfit and a hair bun that was more grayish than black, Yacopini posed in the group photo with Oscar Piastri (third in Formula 1) and a step behind tycoon Bernard Ecclestone, who led the top category for four decades. He concluded this impeccable season on December 12th as the front runner in the highest motorsport meeting. He still had a few barbecues to host with family and friends in Argentina, but Fate drew a variant, the most difficult of his life.
He The 2026 Dakar Rally begins this Saturday in Yanbuwith the short 23 kilometer prologue, which orders departure for the next day depending on the result. There are 13 stages until the end of the almost 5,000 kilometer long route on January 17th, again in Yanbu, after a single rest day halfway, on January 10th in Riyadh.
For this requirement 20 Argentines met each other. Luciano Benavides, Leonardo Cola and Santiago Rostan will appear on motorcycles; Navigator Eduardo Blanco (resident in Spain) in the Ultimate car class. The most recent winners and reigning champions lead the Challenger squad: Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini. Also in the duet are David Zille and Sebastián Cesana on one side and Kevin Benavides and Lisandro Sisterna on the other side. Pablo Copetti goes on a Brazilian boat and Augusto Sanz on a Dutch boat.
In Side by Side there are only two pairings: Manuel Andújar and Andrés Frini and Jeremías González Ferioli and Gonzalo Rinaldi. Meanwhile, Benjamín Pascual defends his victory in the Mission 1000 alternative energy class on an electric motorcycle, while Gastón Mattarucco navigates a Colombian pilot in the Dakar Classic.
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