A 6×6 Tatra 815 truck driven by Clay Regazzoni in the 1988 Paris–Dakar Rally will be among the vehicles displayed at the annual Kopřivnice Technology Days this weekend. The truck is one of several to be showcased in the corresponding “Dakar Zone”, created to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the company’s Dakar efforts.

Regazzoni was a Formula One star in the 1970s until he suffered career-ending spinal injuries in a crash at the 1980 United States Grand Prix West. While the accident left him paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair, he returned to motorsports in disciplines like sports cars and raids.

In 1986, Regazzoni made his Dakar debut in an IVECO 110PC but did not finish; elsewhere in the Truck category that same year, Tatra ran its first Dakar too with Karel Loprais, Zdeněk Kahánek, and Michel Hardy in 815s. Regazzoni found himself behind the wheel of one himself for the 1988 race; nicknamed “Rega”, the six-wheeler sported Marlboro sponsorship.

Both trucks were modified to accommodate Regazzoni’s disabilities such as hand controls. In the Tatra’s case, an electric winch was mounted above the door so he could pull himself into the cockpit. He was joined in the cabin by fellow Swiss Alberto Reverberi and Jean-François Bonvin.

Alas, the 1988 Dakar didn’t go much better as he retired on the first stage in Africa. Fortunately, he rebounded later that year by winning his class at the Rallye des Pharaons.

Regazzoni switched to cars a year later, driving a Mercedes-Benz G600 TE from 1989 to 1992 with sponsorship from Chesterfield. He kept Rega as a service truck, and its livery was also changed accordingly. The Mercedes remained in his personal possession until his death in 2006, and cycled through owners before ending up at Mechatronik who put it up for sale last December.

Rega, meanwhile, went to Italy where it stayed until 2018. Zdeněk Krejčí bought the truck and restored it to its 1988 appearance.

Other trucks for the Dakar Zone will be sourced from the Tatra Museum, private owners, and outfits like Loprais Team.

Featured image credit: Tatra Trucks