The Dakar Rally was supposed to be a family affair for Tomáš Tomeček with his son Metoděj by his side as navigator. Unfortunately, Metoděj doesn’t have a truck driver’s license since he’s only 20 years old and therefore too young to get one. All three members of a truck crew are required to have both a truck license and an FIA license.

“This was a disaster,” Tomeček told Motorsport Revue. “We didn’t know about the rule at all, probably because we never had any problems with it. I immediately started calling everywhere and looking for a replacement.”

The team only found out about the situation on January 1, after the Tomečeks and mechanic Grant Ballington had arrived in Saudi Arabia and were setting up. With the younger Tomeček unable to take part, he returned home while his dad got to work in finding a replacement.

Ard Munster, who normally works with Tomeček, was unavailable. He then reached out to South Racing since his Tatra 815 is contracted to service the SSV team at Dakar, but none of them have an FIA license.

Running low on options and with little time, Tomeček then asked his friend and Dakar regular Radovan Kazarka. Kazarka in turn recommended his own son Tomáš, who had both licenses.

Tomáš was hastily flown in from Vienna to take his place as Tomeček’s co-driver. A sports car racer, Kazarka previously served in the same role for Róbert Kasák at the 2023 Dakar Rally; their Tatra Phoenix finished 16th in T5.

As if his first week couldn’t get any messier, Tomeček’s Tatra then failed pre-race scrutineering because the fire extinguishers weren’t mounted in the right orientation and a GPS tracker was broken. Once those were rectified, he was good to go.

Tomeček is pulling double duty this January. Once the Dakar Rally is complete, he’ll be at the Africa Eco Race that begins a week later.

Featured image credit: Gigi Soldando / DPPI / ASO