MACEK Martin CZE 12/09/1968 198 cm 100 kg

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
WR 450 F	YAMAHA

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Scratch	17	30	110	49	19	22	27	16	25	44	-	19	16	24
Stage	17	30	110	47	19	22	26	16	24	35	-	19	44	24	-	-
Overall	17	22	73	58	38	33	32	28	25	19	-	20	19	18	-	-

Martin Macek : «A strong run or nothing»

For those whom the Dakar isn’t the adventure it once as, the story of Martin Macek is the perfect counterexample. This giant of a man from the Czech Republic (1.98m, 100kilogrmas) incarnates the Dakar philosophy.

He entered the Dakar for the first time in 2007 on a standard Yamaha 450. By an unfortunate set of circumstances, his kit never left Spain. Setting off on the most intense rally in the world “with two T-shirts”, no assistance but with an iron will, he had to make do with what he had on his person and a little help from several teams to repair his bike. At the end of his adventure, this enduro rider that “won all the competitions possible” in his native country finished 15th after losing 12 kilograms in the dunes. Not too shabby!

With Martin we have someone that has to be reckoned with. He’s back on the Dakar with a better set-up: the support of the Yamaha Europe team, a new Yamaha 450 prepared for the desert and a potential top ten on the horizon. For it to be a true success he would like to take “several stage victories”. “The rally will be harder and will require more technique in South America than in Africa”. He believes this will be an advantage for him. But for Martin, “to finish 100th is equal to not finishing”, he wants “to put in a strong run. “

And to give himself an even better chance, this mountain of man has followed a regime of more than 100kms per day on his machine and has followed a physical fitness program that has included massive amounts of cross-country skiing in the Czech Republic. Good luck to all the others.

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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