Race2Recovery starts new Dakar challenge

A TEAM of disabled ex-soldiers has arrived in South America to take on this year’s Dakar rally, known as the toughest motoring challenge on the planet.

Race2Recovery, the team of severely injured servicemen and civilian volunteers, is taking a second shot at the Dakar after last year becoming the first all-disabled team in history to complete it.

This year the 5,600-mile course travels through Argentina and Chile, crossing the Andes mountain range and the Atacama Desert, where temperatures are expected to top 40 degrees Celsius.

The Race2Recovery initiative, supported heavily by Land Rover, is designed both to raise money for several charities including Help for Heroes, and to form part of the difficult rehabilitation process for injured servicemen.

Team founder and driver, retired Captain Tony Harris said: “We’re delighted to be back in South America for our second Dakar challenge.

“The memory of finishing last year’s race is something we’ll always treasure but we always wanted the Race2Recovery team to become a sustainable rally team so it’s fantastic to be entering our second Dakar.

“We learnt a lot from last year’s competition so we feel extremely well prepared for the challenges that this race will inevitably throw at us.”

The teams will be driving a pair of Land Rover Defender-based Wildcat rally-raid vehicles, both of which were entered in last year’s race.

By Press Association reporter