Josef Brzobohatý, one of the first Czech competitors at the Dakar Rally, passed away Monday at the age of 93. His old teammate Jaroslav Joklík confirmed the news later in the day.

“Very sad news to hear,” Joklík wrote. “Five-time Dakar participant, great personality. My deepest condolences to the surviving family.”

LIAZ was the first Czech company to race the Paris–Dakar Rally when they entered two 100.55 D trucks into the 1985 edition. Brzobohatý, a lifelong LIAZ factory employee who proclaimed in an interview with Dakar.cz that he “knew the truck down to the last screw,” was tasked with being the mechanic on the #626 piloted by French LIAZ dealer Alain Galland. Czech compatriot Zdeněk Kovář joined them in the navigator’s seat.

The race got off to an inauspicious start when they realized they had misplaced their documents before departure. Kovář improvised by copying what was written down by the #627 LIAZ team, changed the number to 626, and was allowed to race.

However, both trucks eventually into trouble with the shocks and front driveshaft. Brzobohatý attributed part of the issue to Galland’s aggressive driving style, which ended up twisting the replacement driveshaft beyond repair as well. Radiator problems further sank the team until Galland decided to return to Europe since he felt the truck could no longer continue. Kovář and Brzobohatý, on the other hand, opted to keep going. They were officially classified as a retirement since they no longer had their driver, but Thierry Sabine decided to let them participate anyway.

Starting each stage onward in last, they continued on. Although not permitted to assist other teams, the LIAZ picked up fellow retirees when they were unable to be extracted from the course; Brzobohatý recalled they carried as many as six people in the cockpit at one point. Other adventures throughout the 1985 race included a police search for their shovels that got stolen, and going without food for two days until they came across an inn that served mildew-covered mashed peas that they couldn’t eat and decided to pass off to other competitors. The #626 was dismantled a few years after the race.

Brzobohatý returned to Dakar four more times from 1986 to 1988 and again in 1992. He was part of the #633 LIAZ 100.55 with Jean-Louis Heritier and Radek Fencl in 1986 but retired due to a crash.

In 1987, he was the mechanic for a 111.154 with Bohouš Vonšovský and Miroslav Krejsa, but they hit a dune at 110 km/h and the landing shot the trio up into the roof of the cockpit; Brzobohatý and Vonšovský respectively broke their cerival vertebra and lumbar vertebra in the impact. Krejsa tried to stand atop the dune to warn others of the dune, only for a rider to crash on it and break his leg when his bike landed atop him. Brzobohatý crawled over and pulled the bike off using his own leg, only for another car to zoom in and roll as well. Doctors soon arrived and stayed with them overnight in the desert before they could be flown back to Europe.

He recovered in time for the 1988 Dakar, where he joined Krejsa and Joklík. Once again, the race ended with a DNF due to a gearbox failure while they were running fourth.

His final Dakar start came in 1992 as the mechanic for Jiří Adamec and French co-driver Delaporte’s LIAZ 111.154. Stage 19 in Namibia coincided with his 60th birthday, which he and his crew celebrated with a toast only for their gas-powered generator to run out before they could do so.

“Those ten minutes (in darkness) felt like an eternity. I had to hold the cork with all my strength because I couldn’t see where to pour the champagne,” he quipped. The team would ultimately reach the finish, 108th overall.

Brzobohatý continued to follow Dakar in the years after.

Josef Brzobohatý: January 13, 1932 – August 4, 2025

Featured image credit: Jaroslav Joklík