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The Minardi Formula 1 team decided to participate in the world’s most famous desert rally in 1986: the Dakar Rally. The team seemed to be doing well, even though it decided to participate with a truck instead of a car. RacingNews365 looks back on the rally adventure of the F1 team with owner Giancarlo Minardi.
Minardi, an Italian Formula 1 team, was active in the premier class between 1985 and 2005 and had notable drivers like Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. In 1986, they also participated in the Dakar Rally with a racing truck. Despite challenges converting the truck for racing, they performed better than expected and even reached second place in the truck rankings. However, a wiring error led to a fire and the team had to end their Dakar adventure. Despite this, Giancarlo Minardi, the team owner, is proud of their achievements and believes they could have been more competitive with more time and experience. Ultimately, Minardi focused on Formula 1 and did not participate in the Dakar rally again.
