BRP CAN-AM

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• English engineer Richard Aczel doesn’t have your typical rally-raid competitor profile. For a start he’s not a total petrolhead, his day job is in the consulting industry where he is owner and CEO of a firm that specialises in consulting for technology companies. His first sporting endeavour was long distance running, entering such gruelling events as the Himalayan 100 Miles and the Great Wall of China Marathon.
• He did however run over much of the birthplace of rally raid, when he entered the Marathon des Sables.
• Dodgy knees prompted him to look at other ways of suffering. Which in turn saw him signing up for the East African Safari Classic with Tuthill Porsche in a 1972 Porsche 911.
• He enjoyed himself so much he went back the following year and fell thoroughly in love with off-road driving and wide-open spaces. Looking around for his next project his eyes alighted on the Dakar. A more logical choice would have been the Dakar Classic and Richard did explore the possibility, but being a bit of a competitor, in the end he opted for the T3 category.
• And it all went rather well. After a difficult start that had him struggling through the 3rd stage with a broken gearbox, he finished his 2025 rookie Dakar an impressive 17th overall in T3. 
• In fact, he enjoyed the whole experience so much that he signed up for three subsequent rounds of the W2RC: the South African Safari Rally, the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal and the Rallye du Maroc. And his results went too shabby either, with a 2nd place overall in South Africa and 2 10ths. Reflecting his focus on enjoyment rather than results, he didn’t actually bother to sign up for the W2RC championship!