Cooper-supported Race2Recovery ready for 2013 Dakar Challenge
The Cooper Tire-supported Race2Recovery team united for one last time ahead of its 2013 Dakar challenge at Tedworth House last week as preparations to become the first disabled team to complete the world’s toughest rally enter their final stages.
The team – which is predominantly made up of injured soldiers – will use Cooper’s specialist Discoverer STT tyres as they embark on motorsport’s most challenging endurance event – the Dakar Rally.
The Discoverer STT is an aggressive 4×4 tyre which features Cooper’s innovative Armor-Tek3 heavy duty carcass. The three-ply carcass delivers protection against impact damage while its aggressive tread pattern optimises traction on both hard and soft surfaces. This will aid the team as they seek to overcome the mud, rocks and desert sand which combine to make the 9,000 kilometre course all-the-more demanding.
Cooper has already experienced victory in the Dakar Rally – Spanish rally ace Xavi Foj took victory in the 2012 production class using another tyre from Cooper’s off-road offering – the Discoverer S/T
Covering anywhere between 500 km and 800 km per day and faced with extra challenges such as extreme sleep deprivation, it will be a phenomenal achievement for the team to finish the race but they are certain to embody their motto ‘beyond injury – achieving the extraordinary’ as they continue to inspire men and women – both soldiers and civilians, across the world. Starting in Peru and crossing Argentina on the way to the finish in Chile, the team’s quest will also be to raise a large amount of money for Tedworth House, the venue for Monday’s gathering. Race2Recovery has already surpassed the £100,000 mark for the Help for Heroes flagship recovery centre.
On show at Tedworth House were three of the four Land Rover-based Wildcats, the 4×4 race support trucks which will accompany the four vehicles across the course and two 8×8 service area support trucks. The crew and their logistical and mechanical support teams were on-hand at the event to demonstrate their vehicles and discuss their involvement in greater detail.
Speaking at the event on Monday, Captain Tony Harris, who is a below-the-knee amputee as a result of injuries sustained while serving in Afghanistan and will drive one of the four Wildcats in the Dakar, said, “I’m delighted that Race2Recovery is able to come together as a full team one last time before we wave goodbye to our vehicles when we ship them to South America for January’s Dakar Rally. I’m particularly pleased that we’re able to celebrate here at the Tedworth House Personnel Recovery Centre, which has been the recipient of our ongoing fundraising activity.
“We’re very proud to have raised more than £100,000 to-date and we hope that our continued efforts as a successful rally-raid team will continue to see donations increase, directly benefitting our country’s injured servicemen and women.”
Sarah McRoberts, European Marketing Manager for Cooper Tire Europe, was also in attendance, praising the team’s extraordinary achievements, saying, “What the Race2Recovery team and its supporters have achieved is truly incredible and their spirit and determination is simply awe-inspiring. To visit Tedworth House and see the work that is being done here makes the work of the team seem even more worthwhile and we at Cooper are extremely proud supporters of the entire team and wish them the very best of luck for the Dakar 2013 Rally.”
The 2013 Dakar Rally will begin in Lima, Peru, on January 5. The 15-day challenge will see the teams travel down through Peru and into Argentina before finishing in Santiago, Chile, on January 20.
For more information on Race2Recovery or to donate, please visit www.race2recovery.com