Valcourt, Quebec, Canada – Can-Am announced a new Monster Energy/Can-Am racing team that will compete in the 2019 Dakar Rally. The three-racer squad features American Casey Currie, reigning Dakar champion Reinaldo Varela and racer Gerard Farrés.
As part of the Dakar effort Can-Am will attend the race to capture the defiant 172-hp, turbocharged Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle in action, provide social updates and produce a three-part documentary series about Currie and his Dakar experience.
Can-Am will also field a talented South Racing/Can-Am team and several other support drivers in its pursuit of back-to-back Dakar titles. Can-Am, the defending side-by-side category champion, is returning to the Dakar Rally in full force Jan. 6-17, in South America with a field of more than 20 professional racers.
“Dakar is about overcoming difficulties through persistence,” Olivier Camus, Can-Am global marketing director, said. “It’s about an unyielding, all-out effort to finish something you started. At BRP, we carry this same determination and internal drive to win in everything we do. The Can-Am Maverick X3 vehicle was engineered with this attitude, and to this day provides our racers with the supreme confidence that they will prevail against all odds. Winning Dakar and to repeat as champions is our objective. Our team is trained to endure the rigors of the world's toughest race, and our racers are just built for this. We have a deep connection with them and we value their stories, the families and camaraderie involved in this effort. As a global Can-Am family, we’re all in this monumental adventure together.”
Monster Energy/Can-Am Dream Team
Can-Am has joined forces with Monster Energy and South Racing to build a Dakar Rally dream team. Leading the way is defending Dakar side-by-side category champion, Reinaldo Varela. The Brazilian piloted a Maverick X3 Turbo R side-by-side vehicle to a historic victory earlier this year in its first ever running of Dakar, earning him and co-pilot Gustavo Gugelmin respect around the world.
Casey Currie will be representing North America. The U.S. racer earned his Dakar series stripes this year by earning the fastest qualifier and stage win at the Merzouga Rally and then solidified his off-road legend status with a win at the Desafio Inca Challenge (Dakar Series) in Sept. 14-16 in Peru. Gerard Farrés and co-driver Dani Oliveira are no strangers to Dakar series success, having just scored a runner-up finish in October at the Rally du Maroc in Morocco, so they’re amped and ready to take on Dakar and all challengers.
Casey Currie–Off-Road Icon’s First Dakar Rally
To capture Currie’s first attempt at conquering Dakar and fulfilling a lifelong dream, Can-Am will produce a three-part documentary series about the off-road icon, from preparation to the finish line. The first video, “Born to Race,” launched today and digs into how he started racing, its impact on his life and more about his motor sports family. Part 2, “Preparing for Dakar,” Currie recaps the knowledge gained for Dakar from his previous efforts at both the Merzouga and Inca rallies. The final installment called “It’s ON!” is a planned behind-the-scenes effort to explain his determined effort to prepare for Dakar, from his family’s backing, the travels, race planning and up to the starting line.
South Racing/Can-Am and More
South Racing/Can-Am, led by manager Scott Abraham, has its own fast five for the 2019 Dakar Rally in Hernan Garces/Juan Pablo Latrach, Miguel Jordão/Lourival Roldan, Ellen Lohr/Anton de Roissard, Ricardo Porem and Thomas Ourrednicek/David Nipal. This exceptional team has dozens of combined years of racing experience, has driven an assortment of diverse vehicles (karts, cars, trucks, semis, etc.) and has witnessed firsthand both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, so it’s primed and ready for Dakar.
In all, the 20 plus Can-Am racers will represent at least 10 different countries creating a global family not only linked together by their determination to defeat Dakar but also the vehicle they choose to compete in.
Maverick X3 Side-by-Side Vehicle: Perfect for Dakar
The Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo R side-by-side vehicle immediately verified its stance as the most prodigious vehicle on the planet when it won the inaugural 2018 Dakar SxS category title in its first ever entry. With its Dakar series rally racing wins, its several huge desert racing victories in North American and the abundant U.S. off-road national championships the Maverick has also earned, this season has further cemented its status as the most desirable racing side-by-side vehicle on the planet.
The Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle, with its powerful turbocharged 172-hp Rotax engine, and is the ideal platform for Dakar and all its challenges because it was engineered for the desert. Its aggressive, future-forward design puts the driver in control at the heart of the vehicle, connecting them as one. Dakar has proven to be downright exhausting to man and machine, but the Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle and its relentless character are ready for the world’s toughest race, which is spread out over 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles) and lasts 11 days.
For full race details, racer news and more, visit the Can-Am Off-Road Facebook page.
For more information about Can-Am off-road products, visit CanAmOffRoad.com.
