Fuchs ready to compete in Dakar 2018

He doesn't feel like a favorite, but he is ready to fight in the Dakar 2018 rally. This Saturday, the longest and most demanding competition starts, bringing together the best drivers and car enthusiasts, who will travel through Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. This edition will have as its main Peruvian representative Nicolás Fuchs, who revealed in an exclusive interview that, despite being a 'novice' in the competition, starting from Lima and with the support of Peru motivates him to place himself in the Top 10 of the rally.

What are your expectations for running your second consecutive Dakar and for the starting line to be in Lima?

"This challenge is very difficult. As I say, I have already started practicing for Dakar this year. We know that we are still novices, with only one Dakar you can't say that you are experienced, you need to have several. I will follow the same strategy, start with a lot of caution, with care. Try to finish every day of Peru in order to finish the entire Dakar."

There has been a lot of talk about the dunes and the Peruvian desert. Do you think this will be an advantage for the national drivers who are already familiar with the climate?

"It's different. It's difficult, I think it will be much more complicated here in Peru because of the heat and the Peruvian desert. I participated in this year's Dakar as training, knowing that there was a possibility that the Dakar would return to Peru, that was my idea, to know how it was, what would happen, and that's why I started doing it."

Unlike the previous Dakar, held in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, can the climatic difference affect the drivers?

"The altitude, the heat definitely doesn't affect us, the drivers, because of Caminos del Inca and the Peruvian Sierra. The desert needs to be approached well hydrated, without getting desperate, taking it calmly. The race is long, it's only six days in Peru, and you have to complete the entire Dakar, so you shouldn't wear yourself out too much. I think it's day by day because the race needs to be finished. You shouldn't go crazy on the first day because that would be a mistake," revealed the national driver Nicolás Fuchs.

You have raced in Caminos del Inca and this is your second participation in the Dakar. What is the difference between both competitions?

"The demand between Caminos del Inca and Dakar is completely different. Caminos del Inca is a rally-type race, even though it's long, we know where we're going and we have a strategy. Dakar is a race that surprises you because every day you discover new places, you learn new things, we don't know where we will pass until we are there. That's the level of caution we must take. In Caminos del Inca, I know where the cliffs are, the speed bumps, the potholes, where the curve is, everything I know. For Dakar, I don't know anything, so I have to take a lot of caution to not make any mistakes," said Nicolás Fuchs.