The newly created Team Les Copains Du Désert will enter the 2026 Dakar Classic in a hydrogen-and-diesel MAN L90, fielded in partnership with Normandy Racing Solutions. Jean-Baptiste Lecot and Morgan Meslin will split driving duties while Johann Valognes serves as navigator.

NRS is an arm of Team HoleShot Compétition, whose owner Alexandre Lemeray has raced the Dakar Classic since 2022 before returning to being a Dakar Rally service truck driver in 2025. The team built the MAN in 2023 to compete in the 2024 Classic, where Lemeray and Lecot along with Fabien Lecaplain finished 33rd overall. Their race was marred by an early rollover, though they successfully reached the end. Hubert Lelievre drove it at this year’s Classic, placing 50th.

The truck runs on a HydraGEN HG1 power unit from dynaCERT that converts distilled water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. When these gases are injected into the air intake, it improves diesel combustion and decreases brake-specific fuel consumption.

“Some will say I love my truck to my wife, but that’s not true,” Lecot quipped. 2026 will be his second Dakar. “My friends from two years ago said to me: ‘JB, we’ll let you have the truck!’”

2026 will be Lecot’s second Dakar and the debuts for Meslin and Valognes. The three are longtime friends who’ve known each other since they were kids. Meslin is a truck driver in his home village. Valognes works in the automotive industry but remarked he has “no driving talent”, thus he’ll be navigating for the trio.

“My motivations for the Dakar are very simple: to make a dream come true,” Meslin commented.

Featured image credit: Doni Castilho / FOTOP / ASO