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EDEN — A Utah man has traveled to South America to compete in what he called the toughest off-road race in the world — the Dakar Rally.
Jeff Sunderland, of Eden, will compete in the Dakar Rally motorsports race in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina from Jan. 6-20. The race covers more than 5,000 miles of off-road terrain over the course of two weeks.
“I’ve never experienced anything quite like this before,” said Sunderland, who arrived in Peru late Tuesday evening.
Sunderland’s racing partner will be Ignacio Villegas, a man he met through his work. Villegas’s father Carlos has raced in the Dakar Rally for many years, and he announced that this year’s race will be his last.
Carlos decided he wanted his son to compete alongside him, and Ignacio Villegas invited Sunderland to race with the Villegas team.
Sunderland, 54, has had a lifelong love of motorsports, he said. He raced go-karts in his youth and won several state and national racing titles.
Ignacio Villegas also raced as a kid growing up in Argentina, Sunderland said. In March 2017, Villegas invited him to race, and Sunderland started training.
“Somehow we pulled it all together and here we are,” he said.
Training for an auto race involves cardio and weight training, as well as mental toughness, Sunderland said. While training, Sunderland acquainted himself with the navigation system he’ll be using during the race. But since he couldn’t get behind the wheel of the car, which was in Europe, he put in extra cardio work. Doing so also helped make him mentally tougher, which is important for the Dakar Rally, he said.
In preparation for the race, he also contacted several of the few Americans who have competed in the race previously, including IndyCar driver Robby Gordon.
“I’m sure I’m going to learn what I needed to do differently after a couple days, but a few of the guys gave me some really good advice and I heeded what they said,” Sunderland said.
During the race, he will be driving a Nissan Navara pickup truck. He’ll be racing in a production stock class, meaning everything on the vehicle is stock and free of modifications, save for the suspension and some added safety equipment, he said.
As a lifelong motorsports enthusiast, racing in the Dakar Rally is a great achievement and opportunity, Sunderland said.
For others who have a big aspirational goal, he said if you put in the hard work to prepare for your dream, the opportunities will come.
“Never ever give up on your dreams,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to set them aside and focus on other, more important things in life, but never give up on your dreams. There’s always a chance they might come to fruition.”
