My favourite team in this Dakar, the team is the ACCIONA Electric car, even though the pilot and builder himself has clearly betrayed me and stole my position.

When I created this project together with Agustín Payà, and I spent two years fighting to sell it to Acciona, my purpose was not only racing the Dakar rallye, but to ensure that the event would serve to provide a positive impact on the world through promoting sustainable mobility. The sports in general and motor racing in particular, should serve to bring benefits to society beyond the personal pleasure or entertainment; and in this case, what the world urgently needs, are efficient for less polluting transportation.

Even it’s absolutely respectful, the planet and society doesn’t really care if some pilots are having a great fun racing around the desert, offering excitement and very cool images to the followers, if there isn’t an attitude and concrete actions to move towards a world more respectful on the environment and natural resources in general.

This purpose continues in this year, and this is what counts. So I hope they get their/our goal of finishing the hardest motor race in the world, with a full electric car without fuel, achieving a significant global impact on the field of clean mobility.

Naturally I was not happy when the builder of the car, who insisted me a lot in order to participate in the project, cheated me and submitted a new option directly to the sponsor, without even discuss it with me, as the leading promoter of all the project, and who had given him all the trust. Watching someone betraying you and taking advantage of all your work is not really pleasant. And watching him sitting in your place as a pilot of the car, leads you to very negative feelings, activating the darkest part of you. But this is only part of the Ego, and if you look further, also gives you a great opportunity to learn a great lesson, to analyze well the mistakes, and manage well the thoughts toward the positive side of the whole issue, and forget resentment that only serves to waste energy and generate bad feelings.

Of course I will not be stupid, and I will not be grateful to those who cheated me; and I do want to warn those who are going to work with this constructor, of his few ethical principles in many ways, beyond those affecting me directly.

Later, when I was asked to join the team as spokesperson, I preferred to keep aside, because on one hand my goal as adventurer and promoter of the idea was another, and on the other side, I also  think that if want to build a better world for all, I find it difficult to work it from a structure where perhaps many values ​​are preached, but then not really applied. If important parts of the team continue working under the concept of ancient competitiveness where everything is justified to reach the goal, and the attitude dominating is classical superficial marketing, personal selfishness and short-term vision that so much damage caused to our society, I would not feel comfortable working a project that I expect to be really serious and authentic

Perhaps it will seem a very idealistic approach, but this is the central axis on which, with all my contradictions, I try to move. A few years ago I promised radically myself that I would not do adventures just for my personal interest or pleasure, but while chasing my challenges, my activities had to be connected with real attitudes of environmental sustainability. I refuse that my lifestyle and my projects contribute to a more UNSUSTAINABLE world. Therefore, despite having a great fun racing the Dakar, after 8 participations, I stated publicly that I would never do it again in a fuel or polluting car.

We don’t have to get confused with objectives and purposes.  Sometimes you can’t get the goal, but achieve the purpose;  losing in the first point, but earning much more in the second.  However, in the reverse case, we would have a small victory in front of a great defeat.

Therefore, even though I have failed in my sport goal, I am winning in my purpose, because I promoted a challenge that is being continued, and because I am proud that a big company like Acciona is being brave betting on sports related clean energy. I believe that the project scope is well beyond my interests.

Team Acciona Dakar 100% Ecopowered: good luck in this Dakar, and I hope your success, arrive as far as possible, really serve to promote a change of attitude towards a more sustainable world.