Category: Nezaradené

After an excellent performance in the Africa Eco Race, where NORWIT Racing finished second in the SSV category, it continues with the Hungarian Desert Express 300 competition.

However, in the case of the Hungarian competition, there is a change in the co-driver seat, when Marek Sýkora is replaced by the Czech Jiří Kalát. The reason is simple, Marek is competing in Portugal with another driver. Of course, the Taurus T3 Max remains in the Norwit Racing Team.

“This is our first time here, so it’s new for the start of the season and we’re really looking forward to it. I’m going with Jirko Kalát, who’s been in the car for four months and we’re trying to get it together as soon as possible so that it works as well as possible in the car. It’s kind of like a joint training session in Africa for us. So far it’s going well, we’ve done the first fifteen kilometers. The track is nice, sandy roads between trees, so we’re being a little careful. Everything was fine, except that I missed one turn and we had to back up. But that’s okay, we have to take that into account. As I said at the beginning, this is primarily a training session for us to get to know each other in the car. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, so we’re looking forward to it,” Martin Benko said after the opening special stage.

As Martin already indicated, tomorrow will be a long day. As part of it, the competing crews must complete a course with a total length of more than three hundred and thirty kilometers, of which almost three hundred and thirteen are measured. We will inform you about how the NORWIT Racing Team crew, Martin Benka and Jiří Kalát, will do after the end of the race.

A dream came true and Martin Benko and Marek Sýkor conquered the complete course of the Eco Africa Race 2026. Moreover, they have second place in the SSV category at the finish, as well as the championship in the T3.1 class.

The last stage of the competition, which is more than six thousand kilometers long, is behind us and the Slovak Norwit Racing, together with the crew and assistance, can celebrate. At the finish of this long-distance competition, the finish of which was at Lac Rose, Ružov Jazer, where the legendary Dakar Rally also finished in the past, they took the award for second place in the SSV category, as well as the victory in the T3.1 class.

“It wasn’t easy. We were the only Slovaks starting with a buggy at the start and the competition was extremely strong. We are all the more pleased with our position. In the last stage, which had only twenty-two measured kilometers, we could not have achieved a better final position; on the contrary, if we had not reached the finish line, we would have lost everything we fought for. We are extremely satisfied and looking forward to going home,” concluded Martin Benko.

Slovak Norwit Racing, Martin Benko, Marek Sýkora and their four mechanics are now waiting to move to Slovakia, where they will share this great success with their families and loved ones. And there is certainly something to celebrate, because winning a competition like the Eco Africa Race is not easy at all. And succeeding among competing crews from all over the world is an achievement that all of Slovakia should be proud of.