With his wife Olga still going through the motions of motherhood and trying to get back to speed, Ondřej Martinec and the CZech Samurais will not race the Dakar Classic in 2026.

“We will dedicate the coming year to intense preparation and returning to racing pace,” Martinec stated. “After a two-year break, we don’t want to rush anything. The goal is for Ollie to regain the speed, precision, and self-confidence that Dakar requires.

“The Dakar Classic will be a year off for us, but we will return there stronger.”

Olga Roučková previously raced the Dakar Rally in 2018 on a quad, where she finished third among women riders in the class and 26th for all quads, and in 2019, placing 20th in SSV.

In 2023, Martinec and Roučková each piloted a Suzuki Samurai in the Dakar Classic under the CZech Samurais banner. Martinec finished 37th overall while Roučková was 51st.

They were supposed to team up for the 2024 Classic, but the latter was sidelined by a heart procedure. The CZech Samurais went to Dakar anyway to support the “Duckar” program led by Barbora Holická. Roučková was eventually pregnant and opted to skip the 2025 race as a result.

Their son Ondřej Martinec Jr. was born in January, just days before the 2025 Classic. Martinec Sr. raced anyway with Jiri Kopriva as navigator; Kopriva had called the shots for Roučková in the 2023 edition.

Racing a Toyota Land Cruiser 90, Martinec finished 45th overall.

Featured image credit: Fabricio Macedo / FOTOP / ASO