The Corrientes firefighter, called up at the last minute to race the 2023 Dakar, had the pleasure of winning a stage

One afternoon he was in the middle of a field in the province of Corrientes, installing solar-powered pumps, a feat he carries out together with friends and associates. He travels around Argentina with his work and alternates travel with the dedication he puts to the Corps of Volunteer firefighters from the city of Buenos Aires by Parador Robles.

While working under the sun of Argentinian Mesopotamia, the cell phone showing, given the poor signal, incoming call attempts. Even some WhatsApp messages. The insistence was for a call as surprising as it was unexpected: run the Dakar.

There were just 45 days left before the great adventure in Saudi Arabia began. “I couldn’t believe it,” he recalled. Augusto Sanz, the 27-year-old firefighter that while he was doing his work, a message fell on him so surprising that it left him immobilized for a long time.

“I finished the installation and went to the street, to have a better signal and to be able to talk on the phone. A friend called me to tell me that I had proposed to be the navigator in a Side by SidAnd. Of course, I didn’t doubt it,” underlined Sanz, an agronomy student.

“Four days later, the Portuguese Ricardo Porem called me to formalize the possibility of being his navigator. And here I am,” said a smiling Sanz, who took his first Dakar stage victory with a yamaha by the mighty German X-Raid team.

It is no coincidence that Sanz has been summoned. He raced the Argentine Cross Country Championship on motorcycles, also the Ruta 40 Challenge and was Argentine champion of Canam T3.2 in UTV, while he was 5th in SARR.

“One day I went to my hometown store and there was a sign that they were looking for people to open the Prada Robles branch. And there I went. I’ve been working in the barracks since 2015,” said Sanz, who stresses that the hardest thing is when they go out to help in case of road accidents.

“I feel like I am the representative of the fire department in this competition. Because I get messages of support from all my colleagues and from all over the country. It’s impressive how the news has spread,” was surprised Augusto, who is in contact with a Dutch truck team, which is made up of firefighters from that country.

“I am eternally grateful for all messages of support. The Dakar generates something incredible”, argued Sanz, who highlighted: “Even though I consider myself young, this is a sign to the rest of the young people that I have a passion for something. Let them chase dreams, because they are achieved and fulfilled.

The excellent performance in this competition opens the door to the future, ever since some big team could call him to act as navigator in other competitionsin addition to the Dakar.

He smiled as he remembered that everything has an end. The Dakar will end on Sunday and he will embark for Argentina on Monday. “This Wednesday I enjoyed my victory in the Dakar stage, and next Wednesday I will install solar pumps in some fields in the country,” he said with a broad smile, fully enjoying what life has to offer.

Shaybah, Saudi Arabia. Special for Clarion.