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 | SA-Dakar 2011: Nani Roma to start with Nissan after JMB Stradale bankruptcy.
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After announcing he wouldn’t be competing in the 2011 Dakar, Joan "Nani" Roma has accepted a drive with the Belgium "Team Overdrive", which will provide the Spaniard with a car capable of putting in a strong run.
Roma tried to start with a Mitsubishi Racing Lancer, but the French JMB Stradale Team become insolvent and couldn´t confirm the participation.
Following a premature exit from the 2010 South America Dakar, Roma also lost his spot in the X-Raid Team between La Rioja and Fiamala.
The rest of Roma’s year was spent in long negotiations in attempt to get a new and ambitious programme up and running, but the 2004 Dakar winner in the motorcycle category failed to tie up all the loose string and even announced his non-participation.
In all the commotion, the Catalan received great news in a telephone call from the boss at Team Overdrive, Jean-Marc Fortin (who is driving with X-raid and the Polish Kristof Holowczyc).
As it turned out, Freddy Loix had a conflict of schedule and thus there was a vacancy in the Nissan Navara. The game of musical chairs worked in "Nani’s" favour and he immediately headed to Buenos Aires to seal the deal.
"As it turned out their best car was available. Everything came together very quickly and with an opportunity like this I couldn’t pass up the ride with such a well organised team in which I know quite a few people. Several of the team members worked with me at Mitsubishi and X-Raid”, explained Roma.
In addition to the human aspect, Roma and co-driver Gilles Picard can also fell confident with the performance level of their vehicle. While the South American was less successful in 2010, the previous year, the two lead cars in Team Overdrive finished 4th and 5th with Tollefsen and Holowczyc.
2010/12/02 | 13:31 CET | ARTICLE: MR/HS/ASO
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