After Aliyyah Koloc made her successful debut in the top category, Ultimate, at the Dakar Rally last January, she is already preparing for her next event. But this is just the start of what will be a very busy 2024 season for the 19-year-old.
| 11,000 kilometers of off-road and circuit endurance racing, a very unusual combination for any race driver, are waiting for her. This weekend, the driver of the Red-Lined Revo T1+ will take to the track at the Hail International Rally, part of the FIA Middle East Cross Country Championship, from 8-10 February. But ‘the highlight of her off-road season will be her participation in all remaining events of the W2RC, the FIA World Rally Raid Championship. In addition, Aliyyah will be aiming to improve her excellent results in 2023 in this year’s 24H Series endurance championship.
In 2024, Aliyyah will cover an incredible 11,000 racing kilometers—that’s twice the length of the Dakar Rally – both in off-road and in endurance circuit racing. What’s more, these 13 race weekends with starts in the W2RC, the FIA Middle East Baja Championship, and the 24H Series will add up to three full months of racing. And that’s just racing mileage. You will still have to add tests, practice sessions, and other related events to this number. “After a successful start at the Dakar Rally, where Aliyyah finished 25th overall in the Ultimate category, she will continue off-road racing behind the wheel of her Red-Lined car. The more racing kilometers she gets under her belt, the better she will get to grips with the car, which should improve her results. Starting in the Middle East championship is an important preparation for the next Dakar, as this is the kind of terrain the event is run on. And then there are the circuits where Aliyyah has also already established herself as a very good racer. She has an extremely busy season ahead of her, but just participating in the races will bring further career growth,” said Buggyra team boss Martin Koloc. FIA World Rally Raid Championship For the first time, Aliyyah will be racing in the entire FIA W2RC series, which attracts the world’s best long-distance racers. Despite being a debutant in the Ultimate class, she has already shown very good results as she currently ranks 12th in the World Championship in this category after the Dakar. Endurance Circuit Racing In addition to a series of multi-day long-distance rallies, Aliyyah will also return to circuit racing. Together with Adam Lacko and David Vršecký, she will be defending her second place in the GT4 class in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the 24H Series where she was also the best female driver of the entire championship. “It’s not easy to alternate between off-road rallying and circuits, but I am getting used to it. It becomes easier each time to quickly switch and adapt to a very different car that I’m about to race in. It is all a matter of not transferring bad habits from the terrain to the circuits and vice versa,” said the 19-year-old racer. Hail International Rally The Hail International Rally, like the recent Dakar Rally, will be held in Saudi Arabia. The event, located in the north of the country, will run over two days, in addition to the prologue with a total length of 488 km. Aliyyah has already accumulated a wealth of experience with the Middle East Baja Championship having won the overall category in 2022. Hail has a rich tradition in motorsport. The first rally was held here in 2006, and just two years later, it was held under the auspices of the FIA. It is one of the key points of the itinerary of the Dakar Rally, which has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020. This year, Hail hosted a bivouac after the eighth stage of the famous event. The Hail Rally has thus become an excellent testing ground for competitors to prepare for the Dakar. Aliyyah Koloc’s racing calendar in 2024 1-20 January 2024: Dakar Rally – W2RC |
