It’s been over a decade since Diego Freire raced the Dakar Rally, and he’s keen on going back in 2027. He plans to navigate for Enrique “Kike” Carreño.

Both of them star in Ecuador’s national championship in a Mitsubishi Montero, and have also racked up class wins and titles in the country’s domestic rallying series in a Foday Lion F22.

In 2011, Carreño founded Team Ecuador Dakar with the goal of becoming the nation’s first team at the race. The team then won the Desafío Ruta 40’s Dakar Challenge (predecessor to the current Road to Dakar) leg in 2013 to earn a scholarship for the 2014 Dakar. Carreño himself nearly claimed the Dakar Challenge at the 2016 DR 40 before being knocked out by a mechanical issue.

Earlier this week, the two visited Nasser Racing Camp in Barcelona for a test sesion with the Taurus Evo Max. Acelerando noted they will also stick around for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal next week to better learn the inner workings of the Taurus operation, even if they aren’t competing.

“The car adapted very well to my style,” Carreño told Somos Dakar. “It is very agile and the suspension and the brakes allow me to attack with great confidence.”

Somos Dakar mentioned two Barcelona-based teams are interested in their services. If things work out, they plan to compete in the W2RC.

Featured image credit: Diego Freire