Carlos Sainz Cenamor (Madrid, 63 years old) continues at the foot of the canyon without showing signs of stopping. Although he began his love affair with the Dakar 20 years ago, the passage of time has not taken away one bit of competitiveness and speed. The Spanish driver is pursuing his fifth crown with his fifth different brand, now with Ford, the American factory that opted for him in his beginnings in rallying. Fourth overall, almost 12 minutes behind the leader, he hopes to stand up and fight for victory in a second week of competition.
Ask. In the first stages he could be seen a little frustrated, but now he is smiling again…
Answer. Normal. , who had to change the return tickets due to the engine problem we had. So I’m happy to be able to stay alive in the rally and in the battle to win the race.
P. The competition has constant ups and downs. How do you manage to digest them?
R. It’s part of this career, you have good days when you have to manage that joy, because experience tells me that hard days are going to come. You have to try to control those ups and downs and, especially after a bad day, not try to go crazy and try to recover everything at once.
P. He started in motor racing. Would ending on a high note with them be the icing on the cake?
R. It would be very nice, because they gave me the opportunity to debut in the World Rally Championship and this is my fourth stage with the brand. Winning the Dakar with them would be a good finishing touch.
P. Are we facing their last dance?
R. I haven’t talked about anything yet other than trying to win the race, that is my goal in the next few days. When I finish I will sleep on it, as I have always done in the Dakar.
P. Does it depend on a result?
R. Not quite. Every year withdrawal has been one of the possibilities. At this point in my career I want to be honest with myself, and I think I have been: I ask myself if I am having fun, if I have had a chance to win, if I have gone fast, if it is worth it… these are a series of very personal questions that I ask myself and, depending on the answer, I will make the best decision.
P. The last time the Dakar was so close at this point, the first in which he participated. What does that tell you?
R. That the car category is in very good health. There are four brands that are equal and that give many drivers a chance to win the race, a very positive fact.
P. Are you surprised when you see yourself here still?
R. It doesn’t surprise me, because if I’m here it’s because I believe I can. Maybe people, the other pilots, will be more surprised, I don’t know. Logically, if I make the effort to come run this year it is because I believe I have the chance to win, the speed, the experience, the physique to endure it and everything it takes to achieve it.
P. Does having grandchildren change your perspective at all?
R. I have two, and the truth is that I don’t. I remember when my first daughter, Blanca, was born, there was already the topic of how that can mark a pilot. But nothing. When you put on your helmet, all you think about is going fast.
P. What is the main learning you have learned from this career?
R. Have patience and learn to have it. And to manage the good days well and also the bad ones.
P. When you are stranded in the middle of the desert, after some mechanical problem, do you never think about throwing in the towel?
R. Yes, of course it crosses your mind. But when a few days go by, even when you’ve had a bad year like last year, you feel like trying again.
P. How do you feel about spending a couple of nights in a tent in the middle of nowhere?
R. I would prefer to do it in my private life, during a vacation, and not out of obligation and in circumstances where you have to compete the next day. But it’s not a drama either, I do it and that’s it. More than sleeping in a tent or driving through the desert, what really entertains me is driving a race car. If the day before I slept in a tent, in a hotel or in a motorhome, it doesn’t matter to me.
P. They say that you are a very perfectionist. Isn’t it exhausting sometimes to keep things tidy?
R. I think it’s part of my way of being, and that’s why it doesn’t cost me. Yes, you have to be very focused, and sometimes people ask me, ‘are you angry?’ Maybe it’s that when I’m thinking I get angry. But it’s just concentration. I always try to stay a little ahead of the circumstances and think about the smallest details so that things turn out well. That is the way to not be caught by surprise later depending on what situations.
P. How do you disconnect, if at all?
R. I don’t disconnect. In my life it has worked well for me not to disconnect from things and always be where I am. In that sense I try to use all my time to think about what I can do to make things go as well as possible.
P. If I had finally chosen…
R. This would have been my last year.
P. Would he be able to withdraw and be still?
R. With the energy I still have, I will have to look for new challenges, we will see which ones.
P. When you’re in the middle of your career, are you still connected to what’s happening in the world?
R. I try, but this morning I had to look at my phone to find out what day of the week it was, because I had no idea if it was Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. There is a fairly important disconnection, because you are so focused on this that you forget a little about the rest.
P. When you watch the news lately, what do you think?
R. It depends, are you talking to me about Madrid’s last game or Maduro’s? Without a doubt, the world is complicated.
