Ondřej Klymčiw will return to the Dakar Classic in 2026 with a car perfect for pursuing (and being pursued by) Tyrannosaurus rex. He intends to race a 1994 Mitsubishi Pajero sporting a livery based on the tour vehicles used in the Jurassic Park series. Naturally, he calls his project “Jurassic Dakar”.

Klymčiw used to race the Dakar Rally on a motorcycle before switching to the Dakar Classic starting with the inaugural edition in 2021. He ran every edition after that in a Škoda 130 LR before taking 2025 off.

Having done a Dakar in some form 11 times, he admitted to Garáž.cz in October that there wasn’t much reason to continue unless he had a “deeper meaning” to race. Eventually, he found that philanthropic angle by creating the Pink Bubble foundation to help people between 12 and 29 who are battling cancer. Besides assisting those already fighting the disease, he would like to raise cancer awareness and support cancer research for within those age groups.

He decided to lean into the Jurassic Park theme since dinosaurs are a universally loved concept among kids. The livery is based on the Ford Explorer tour vehicles used in the films, but the red is replaced with pink to symbolize his foundation.

The Pajero is an all-wheel-drive machine with a 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission. Klymčiw and his team rebuilt everything but the gearbox.

“The Skoda had the advantage when there were a lot of corners and you were going fast because it weighed a ton,” he commented. “With the Pajero, I will probably have more time and peace in the sand and dunes, but on the rest of the roads, there won’t be a difference in my opinion.”

While racing for a good cause, Klymčiw stressed to Garáž.cz that he doesn’t have a specific goal set for funds raised because that would be too much pressure.

Featured image credit: Škodovkou na Dakar