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Mário Franco and Dakar 2025: “The feeling is of victory”

“Finishing the Dakar means as much as a victory.” The words are from Mário Franco, moments after reaching the final control of the final stage.

With cousin Rui Franco as navigator, the Franco Sport team finished one of the toughest editions in history in an excellent 15th place – 7th among the World Rally-Raid competitors – in the category reserved for SSV prototypes in the Challenger category.

mário franco dakar 2025
Mário Franco < Franco Sport Dakar 2025

After almost 8 thousand kilometres and 14 days of competition, Mário Franco admits: “Mission accomplished! Finishing the Dakar was our big goal. The feeling is one of victory. Taking home a ‘Finisher’ medal means a lot, even more so this year, as it was considered one of the most difficult of all time. So we are extremely happy with what we did. The result was not the most important, but it is excellent to finish in 15th place in the overall classification and 7th among the teams competing in the Rally-Raid World Championship”.

The pilot from Alenquer does not forget the difficulties he experienced: “We started the Dakar in last place and on the second day of the race we continued in the same position. After that, things kept getting better, although we still had a few setbacks. Reaching the end makes up for all the effort and tiredness accumulated, both mine and my cousin Rui’s, but also the entire Franco Sport team’s. My immense respect and admiration for the work that everyone has developed”, highlighted the person also responsible for the Franco Sport team.

Now, it’s time to rest, but also to think about the future. “It is practically certain that we will compete in the World Rally-Raid Championship. Franco Sport is committed to consolidating itself as one of the leading structures in the sport, also at an international level, and it is with this purpose that we are making this project viable. We will have news soon”, said Mário Franco.

franco sport dakar 2025
Franco Sport Dakar 2025

In this edition of the Dakar, their companions, the duo Pedro Gonçalves/Hugo Magalhães, were less lucky. In their debut in the race, both drivers suffered an inglorious withdrawal in the penultimate stage. At kilometre 102, the Franco Sport drivers were deprived of front-wheel drive on their car and with this limitation, even more so in the Empty Quarter, they were unable to avoid a rollover that led to their abandonment. For history, the competitiveness revealed will remain, as well as his remarkable determination and resilience to overcome all adversities in one of the toughest editions of all time.

“Despite the enormous misfortune, Pedro and Hugo are to be congratulated! They performed excellently and are a genuine example and inspiration”, acknowledged Mário Franco.

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