Mini

After a couple of fine showings in his first two Dakar appearances, things haven't quite gone Denis Krotov's way in recent years. The 44-year-old made a splash by coming 15th in the cars on his 2019 debut, topping the rookie standings with co-driver Dmytro Tsyro. Despite a major change of scenery in 2020, when the rally moved to Saudi Arabia, the pair put in a similarly impressive performance to finish 17th overall. However, some bad luck and mechanical trouble has seen Denis finish well outside the top 20 in the past two editions; he was 30th in 2021 and 28th in 2022. The X-Raid Mini JCW team clearly still have faith in their man, though, and Denis returns in 2023 at the wheel of a John Cooper Works Buggy. A regular on the rally-raid circuit in recent years, Denis came third overall at the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 2021 and took victory at this year's Silk Way Rally. He is joined for the second consecutive edition by highly experienced co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov, who boasts a host of top-10 finishes and guided Leonid Novitskiy to third overall in 2013. After a slightly underwhelming first outing together, the talented duo are looking to climb the rankings at Dakar 2023.