Karel Loprais

Karel Loprais (born March 4, 1949 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech rally raid driver and 6-time winner of the Dakar Rally in the truck category.

Karel Loprais
Tatra 815 4x4 - The 1988 rallye winner in the Koprivnice Technical Museum

Career

He started working in Tatra, Kopřivnice, as a factory worker in 1967, later becoming a test driver. He competed with a Tatra 815 truck in the Dakar Rally for the first time in 1986,[1] being disqualified from the 2nd place for arriving late to the last stage start. He competed 19 times between 1986-2006 and claimed six titles (1988, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001), four second places (1987, 1996, 2000, 2002), one third place (1992), two fourth places (1990, 1991) and one seventh place (2004).

After his second victory in 1994, when he placed at the 6th place in the common auto-camion category some media started to call him Monsieur Dakar.[1][2]

After the Dakar he took part in the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally in 1993 (3rd place), the Master Rallye in 1995 (4th place) and the UAE Desert Challenge in 1999 (3rd place) and 2000 (2nd place).

Dakar Rally results

Year Class Vehicle Position Stages won
1986 Trucks Tatra DNF ?
1987 2nd ?
1988 1st ?
1989 Trucks category not held.
1990 Trucks Tatra 4th ?
1991 4th ?
1992 3rd ?
1993
1994 Trucks Tatra 1st ?
1995 1st ?
1996 2nd ?
1997 DNF 2
1998 1st 2
1999 1st 1
2000 2nd 3
2001 1st 8
2002 2nd 1
2003 DNF 1
2004 7th 2
2005 DNF 0
2006 DNF 0

References

  1. Sverak, Jakub. "The call of the road" Archived 2013-06-16 at Archive.today. Prague Post, February 21, 2001. Retrieved on May 17, 2013. Dead link.
  2. Agence France-Presse. "Karel Loprais forfait pour le Dakar". Réseau des sports, November 2, 2006. Retrieved on May 17, 2013.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jan de Rooy
Dakar Rally
Truck Winner

1988
Succeeded by
Giorgio Villa
(1990)
Preceded by
Francesco Perlini
Dakar Rally
Truck Winner

19941995
Succeeded by
Viktor Moskovskikh
Preceded by
Peter Reif
Dakar Rally
Truck Winner

19981999
Succeeded by
Vladimir Chagin
Preceded by
Vladimir Chagin
Dakar Rally
Truck Winner

2001
Succeeded by
Vladimir Chagin
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