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When the Amaury Sport Organisation dropped Quads from the 2025 Dakar Rally programme, Juraj Varga‘s career in rally raid seemed to be in jeopardy. Fortunately, he loves the sport too much to just give up like that.
Since switching to side-by-sides over the summer, Varga hopes to become the first Slovak to race the Dakar Rally in multiple categories.
“For me, the Dakar Rally was the highest peak and at the same time my greatest motivation,” Varga began. “After the Quad category was cancelled at Dakar, I lost that motivation and told myself that if there’s no Dakar, there’s no point in continuing here.
“However, I was still drawn to cross-country rally, so I gradually began preparing for a transition. It came after trying out a buggy. Even though it’s a buggy and has a steering wheel, it has a lot in common with a quad. Like the quad, it has four wheels and the driver isn’t hidden behind glass.”
His Varga Motorsport Team acquired a new Polaris RZR Pro R in June, which he took to the Hungarian Baja two months later. Despite not being classified as it was deemed an experimental car by the FIA, he viewed the race as a learning experience to adjust to his new confines. His competitive debut came at the 4V Rally Raid in Estonia, where he was second quickest in the first stage before severe flooding forced the remainder to be cancelled.
In October, Varga Motorsport Team acquired sponsorship from TIPOS, the national lottery of Slovakia. Radovan Schneider, a crew member for the team, serves as his navigator.
“My goal is not only to succeed in a new discipline in international competition but also to return to Dakar,” Varga continued. “I want to introduce a purely Slovak team to the most-watched and most demanding competition in the world. If I am able to do that, I would be the first Slovak to start in two different disciplines at the Dakar Rally.
“However, it’s still a long way to go. First, we need to gain more experience with the buggy and prove that we belong among the elite. My first goal is to succeed in European events. Only then can we think about higher goals.”
Varga finished third in class at the final Dakar Rally for Quads, his second start in the race after placing fourth in 2023. The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in April was his last race in the category, where he suffered an early electrical failure then withdrew to protest the ASO axing Quads from Dakar.
Since then, many Quad riders have migrated to SSVs or other FIA classes including Dakar winner and World Rally-Raid Champion Manuel Andújar, Pablo Copetti, Rodolfo Guillioli, Laisvydas Kancius, and Mikołaj Krysik.