The final time Martin Koloc raced competitively, his daughter Aliyyah Koloc wasn’t even born but.
With Aliyyah at the moment recovering from surgical procedure that she underwent in late July, her dad will take over her Crimson-Lined REVO T1+ for this weekend’s Hungarian Baja. Buggyra ZM Racing crewman Vlastimil Miksch will function navigator.
Whereas his daughter has a burgeoning profession in cross-country rally because the 2022 FIA Center East Baja Cup champion and at the moment racing within the World Rally-Raid Championship and Dakar Rally, Martin has by no means competed within the self-discipline himself. A lot of his driving was finished on pavement, which included successful the European Truck Racing Championship in 1995 and 1996, earlier than retiring on the finish of 1999.
Martin deliberate a return to the driving force’s seat on the 2021 NASCAR Whelen Euro Sequence spherical in Grobnik, the place he would have pushed alongside Aliyyah and her twin sister Yasmeen Koloc, however was sidelined by shoulder and cervical spinal ache. David Vršecký, a longtime household good friend and Buggyra group member, changed him for the weekend.
“This 12 months, I’m actively concerned in testing the automobile and contributing to its improvement,” Koloc defined. “As Aliyyah underwent a scheduled surgical procedure, I’ve determined to switch her now in Hungary, in order that the automobile improvement continues. Although I haven’t been racing competitively for over twenty-five years, I really feel that I’m an asset to the event programme. We made enhancements, particularly on the chassis.
“We accomplished eleven testing days collectively. To date, Vlastimil has solely navigated in concept, so now he’ll put his information to apply at race tempo. We’re making an allowance for doable errors, however we aren’t involved concerning the outcome. The necessary factor are the race kilometres as we’ve got some improvements on the automobile, particularly on the chassis. Now we have practiced that he tells me concerning the turns forward.”
Though Buggyra ZM Racing, which Koloc owns and oversees, is greater than aware of off-road motorsport, it is going to be the boss’ first time driving on such terrain. Hungary must also present a slightly difficult course for him because it takes place on a army coaching space identified for its rocky but technical structure.
“It’s an enormous change in comparison with circuit racing,” he continued. “I’ve needed to be taught to consider what’s going to occur and never simply what I can see in the meanwhile. As I’m used to doing a variety of issues without delay, it was slightly troublesome for me at first to simply give attention to racing. However it’s a must to give it one hundred pc or you should have an accident.
“To date, I’ve solely determined every little thing from my place as a supervisor. Now I may even know the long-distance rallies from the opposite facet. This may give me a brand new perspective. I needed to shed weight. It doesn’t appear to be it, however there’s little room contained in the automobile. Huge muscle mass are ineffective right here, it’s a must to breathe. The opposite factor was the cervical backbone for which I did particular workouts, so it’s tremendous now.”
The Hungarian Baja is scheduled for 8–11 August. Though it’s a part of the FIA European Baja Cup, Koloc is considered one of three Final groups registered for the Hungarian Cross-Nation Rally Championship.
