Everything seemed ready for Varela's Dakar debut. A member of a traditional Brazilian motorsport family, the South American Rally Raid champion was preparing to compete for the first time in the biggest rally-raid in the world, alongside navigator Bozzano, when the project suffered a serious blow.
During Christmas time with his family in Brazil, Varela received news that the cargo ship carrying his Can-Am UTV to Dakar had been attacked by Houthi pirates in the Red Sea region.
