News

At a press conference on tueday, the 2014 Opel Mokka which will contest the Africa Eco race was unveiled amid extraordinary scenes including an appearance from rockers Tankcsapda (Tricky) adding a touch of Rock and Roll to the event. Band members László Lukács, Tamás Fejes and Sidlovics Gábor all joined the party, posing with the new car and talking to the press after the official presentation from the team.

 

As well as launching the new car, a new Partner, Toyo Tires was introduced to the press. The Opel Mokka now runs on 235/85 R 16 Open Country M/T-R tires. After introducing their new tire partner, Mr Penziás Gábor, President of official Hungarian Toyo Tires importer AKH Abroncs Kft spoke about the their partnership with Toyo and the connection to the team.

Szalay Balázs is well known in Marathon Rally racing circles. As well as being Hungary's top rally raid driver, he has contested numerous international rallies starting with the Dakar as far back as 1996 and taking in The Silk Way and Polish Baja.
              
László Bunkoczi joined the team in 2004 and has seen numerous successes with Szalay in the Hungarian Baja and FIA Central Europe Zone rally Series since then.

The car, an all-new Opel Mokka in factory colours, unveiled on Tuesday, will enter the Africa Eco race commencing December 29. Significant changes to the car have been made to increase its competitiveness. Most noticeably, the car is now more than 60cm shorter to alow the car to attack the dunes even harder.

The Africa Eco race enters its fourth year in 2014. A reaction of Dakar legends such as Jean-Louis Schlesser to the Dakar rally leaving its traditional home in the Sahara, the race continues to gain suppoort. The race crosses some of the familiar African terrain in Morocco and Mauritania before ending in Dakar, Senegal.

During the press conference, team principal Szalay explained some of the reasons for joining the Africa Eco race after competing in the Dakar 12 times. He also explained how the new shorter car allowed for more manueveability in the dunes and the repositioning of the cooling system to protect it further.


About the new livery, Balázs remarked, " It was very important for us to change the design because we wanted to be as close as possible to the Opel factory, who are becoming stronger partners." .

Members of the band, Tricky also spoke at the event and shared that both they and the race team are spending the end of the year preparing for a big event. The Opel Dakar Team will start the Africa Race on 29 December while Tricky has a massive end of year concert on December 28th in Phoenix Debrecen hall.


Tricky frontman, László Lukács commented "I like all the technical sports, but especially desert racing is better still given the extreme in every sense of the word. I look up to all those who give their heads in such adventures as Balázs Szalay and his team. The boys are facing huge challenges day after day and defeat constantly stalks them. This is something that a man's heart beat faster.

Opel Mokka Specification
GM factory racing engine
 Model: LS3
 Displacement : 6200 cm3 V8
 Power: 380 horsepower ( restrictor )
 Torque: 660 Nm ( restrictor )
 Control: Motec M800
 Injectors: Bosch
 Special Reducer : 36.0 mm
 Top speed : 180 km / h
 Acceleration 0-100 km/h in 7.4 seconds

Dimensions
 Weight: 2150 kg (Race trim with 50 liters of fuel)
 Width: 2000 mm
 Height: 1770 mm
 Length: 4150 mm
 Suspension : independent front and rear suspension , each wheel 2 4:42 , shock absorbers, coil springs Einbach
 Wheel travel : front 250 mm, rear 250 mm
 Transmission: X -track sequential six-speed
 Clutch: Tilton 3 -reel, 7 1/4 inches in diameter
 Transfer case : X is a track built into the transmission
 Fuel tank: 550 liter ATL safety rubber tank
 differential
 Front-end X- 247 Track
 Tire Toyo Race Tyre Diameter : 235/85 R 16 Open Country M/T-R
 Rim: 16 inch Evo Corse
 Body: Carbon - Kevlar 62 kg

www.africarace.com for more information on the race