Former WorldSBK rider Joan Lascorz will participate in January's Dakar Rally, after launching a campaign to support his debut.
The tetraplegic driver aims to take on the world's toughest motoring challenge, held from 2nd -14th January 2022 in Saudi Arabia, in the Side-by-Side category (SSV T4) with a UTV specially adapted to his needs and running the number 447.
He is the first tetraplegic driver to attempt to reach the rally-raid finish line. For this, Lascorz has required specific training over the last few months at the hands of the KOA Center. Technical assistance will be provided by the Buggy Masters Team, led by the veteran Eudal Noé, with more than three decades of experience in the trial. While Joan's co-pilot, Miguel Puertas, himself a former motorcycle rider, has contested the Dakar 11 times and previously managed the Himoinsa team.
“We are really looking forward to starting the Dakar,” Lascorz said on the project. “It’s a challenge I have wanted to face for many years. We already have the material shipped with the Buggy Masters Team and everything packed, so I'm looking forward to the date.
“I want to thank all those who have trusted in this project and make possible go to the Dakar, sponsors and team, KOA Center for the preparation and all those who join this project via Verkami. We will do our best in their honour.”
Having competed in WorldSSP between 2007 and 2010, placing third overall before promotion beckoned, Lascorz made the jump to WorldSBK as an official Kawasaki rider in 2011. The following year, he suffered a serious accident during Imola testing that led to spinal cord injuries to the C6/C7 vertebrae - causing tetraplegia with loss of motor skills in the lower extremities, lack of hand mobility (he can only move his wrists), and many further complications such as reduced ability to control body temperature or spasticity in the muscles.
After passing through the Guttmann Institute, Lascorz resumed life as a racer, this time on four wheels. He debuted in 2014 and was crowned Spanish Rally TT Champion in the Buggies category two years later. Continuing to compete both in rally-raid, karting or on snow in recent years, and securing multiple podiums in the GSeries of Andorra in 2021.
Crowdfunding for Lascorz starts on December 10 via Verkami. The campaign will help pay for both the challenge and his specific needs while competing. Through fundraising, the team hopes to be able to take along a personal assistant, a specialised physiotherapist or an adapted motorhome.
The crowdfunding pre-campaign is already online at JoanToDakar.com, with various incentives for supporters ranging from signed T-shirts, exclusive content, video blogs from Joan himself, to having your name on the buggy.
His experience in the Dakar will also serve to finance the development of new technologies for adapted vehicles through the 17Foundation – which promotes recreational activities for people with spinal cord injuries. A new generation bucket in his vehicle, the specific controls for use with reduced hand mobility, or racing overalls with a catheter for physiological needs, are some of the prototypes to be evolved in this Dakar 2022.
The Spaniard’s path to the Dakar Rally will also be featured in a documentary ‘Una carrera inaccessible’. Produced by Uyuni Media, it narrates Joan's sports career from its beginnings to the present, told by friends, colleagues, and even rivals on the track. The documentary will soon be available on the Movistar + Spanish TV platform with a second instalment filmed during the Dakar 2022.
