F1 names prepare for Dakar rally
Japanese grand prix veteran and mountaineer Ukyo Katayama is among the 700 competitors who will embark on the two-week, 9000 kilometer odyssey, as is Tiago Monteiro, the former Jordan and Midland racer who will drive a SMG buggy.
"I've always been a bit of an adventurer," said Monteiro, who now races in the World Touring Car Championship for SEAT.
"One of my dreams was to go round the world on a motorbike. I'd also like to have done the Dakar on a motorbike, but even though I've done a bit of endurance riding, I'm not at a high enough level for that," he added.
Vanina Ickx, the daughter of 8-time grand prix winner Jacky Ickx from Belgium, will drive a Nissan Springbok.
Former twice Dakar winner Jean-Louis Schlesser, whose uncle Jo also raced in F1 and was killed in the 1968 French grand prix, will again contest the event with his own custom buggy.
The rally finishes in Dakar, Senegal, on January 20.