Sara Price landed in Morocco hoping to bag some experience ahead of her first ever shot at Dakar in January. Across the last five days, she’s done just that. More importantly, she’s written herself into world motorsport’s history books.
The American off-road star completed her World Rally-Raid Championship debut in second place in the super-competitive T4 class. Stepping from her Can-Am Maverick X3 after Wednesday’s fifth and final day, with all 1400 miles competitive miles in the bag, she turned and took a long look at the car’s left-rear wheel.
Tucked slightly beneath the Can-Am, courtesy of a bent radius arm (which happened just with just 30 of the 100 flat-out miles completed), she bit her lip. What might have been.
“Today wasn’t our day,” she said. Second was one down on what she’d hoped for.
There was a pause as she collected herself, and allowed herself to relive five days which had taken her and co-driver Jeremy Gray on an epic, unforgettable and history-making ride from Agadir on the Atlantic coast all the way to Merzouga, near the Algerian border.
The smile was back.
“The radius rod cost us 20 or 30 minutes,” she said. “We ran with that crooked rear wheel all the way, but the car held together and we stayed in second place. That’s amazing.
“The big take away from this week is the two stage wins – they’re huge and give J and me so much confidence going forwards towards Dakar.
“And being the first American female to win a rally raid (W2RC) stage win is massive. That’s a real thrill and an absolute honor.
“We showed our speed and our ability to bring the car through some unbelievable conditions. I wasn’t sure what to expect this week, and fighting for the win is a huge result for me.
“I feel so much more ready for Dakar now. I can’t wait. I want to start it now. Or maybe tomorrow!”
