The vehicle is a Nissan Patrol, with the driver Asier Duarte from the Basque Lands and as mentioned above, Luis Barbero in the co-pilot seat.

The rally 4×4 was presented to the public in the Town Hall Square last month, with the Mayor, Juan José Ruiz Joya, and the Councillor for Tourism, Daniel Barbero, joining Asier Duarte and luis Barbero. Also present was a driver (or pilot) from last year’s rally, Eladio Carbonell.

The Mayor pointed out that this rally is the most important in the world, receiving much media coverage. He went on to explain, “we wish them, Asier and Luis, all the luck in completing this arduous trial.”

The Councillor for Tourism, Daniel Barbero, in his turn to address those present, said, “it was clear to us that we just had to support this initiative because a local lad was participating in such an important sporting event, followed in 190 countries with an expected TV audience of 48 million, as well as its impact on the Internet, giving Almuñécar/La Herradura tremendous opportunity at promoting the municipality.”

Luis Barbero, when his turn came, explained the effort that had gone into being able to participate in the rally, “last year we tried and even managed to put our names down but owing to a lack of sponsorship we didn’t make it — it’s the most important 4×4 event, but also the most expensive, but this year we have managed to achieve the support.”

He concluded with, “The car is prepared to the hilt, we have trained in different off-road competitions where we haven’t done badly, so now we want to have a good stab at Dakar, enjoying each leg and Saudi Arabia.”

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)