Park Cities resident Bryan Garvey, CEO of Corbet Design + Build, recently competed in the 35th Annual Dakar Rally as the co-driver for Team Foton alongside Chilean teammate, Antonio Hasbun. The Dakar Rally is a 14-day off-road endurance race, also known as a “rally raid,” that takes place each year in South America.
Bryan’s passion for off-road racing started during his childhood as a dream and has now become a reality. Throughout Bryan’s racing career, he has competed several times in the Mexican (Baja) 1000, an off-road race in Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, and has earned a reputation as a fierce competitor and finisher. This past October, Bryan competed in the Atacama Rally in Chile, which is a FIA sanctioned race. This was Bryan’s first year to compete in the Dakar Rally, and he was one of only three Americans in the competition.
“I was asked to join the Foton Rally Team to bring a different level of experience to the team. They were interested in securing a new co-driver who has varied racing experience like I do. As a North American with Baja experience, I was able to bring a new dynamic to the team,” Bryan said. “It was really exciting to be a part of this Chilean-based team and to participate in such an extraordinary event.”
The route, which passed through Argentina, Bolivia and Chile over a two-week period, is a total distance of more than 5,200 miles. More than 500 competitors started the race, which kicked off in Buenos Aires on January 5, 2015, and after fifteen stages, finished on January 17back in Buenos Aires. Covering thousands of kilometers in some of the most inhospitable terrain, the Dakar Rally is known for its grueling conditions that test the endurance of teams, with a less than 50 percent completion rate. Competitors from all around the world challenge their physical limits and their mechanical, driving and directional skills, while facing endless miles of rock-strewn, pot-holed roads; tracks and riverbeds; mountains; shifting sands and desert winds. The vehicles include specialized cars, trucks, motorcycles and quad bikes.
As one of the only open cars entered, Bryan and Antonio endured the extremes of the driest desert in the world with temperatures ranging from 122 degrees to below freezing, as well as altitudes of more than 15,000 feet. Despite facing several mechanical issues during the race, the team focused on the challenge in front of them to complete each day’s route.
“The rhythm of drive, fix a problem, drive and repeat became the never-ending challenge. For Antonio and me, quitting was not an option, and that mindset pushed us to do what the majority never achieves: finishing the race and placing second in our class on our first attempt. It was an experience of a lifetime and something I have always dreamed of doing. I am so honored to be one of the only Americans who competed in the race, and I look forward to racing in Dakar again in the future,” Bryan added.