It's an all-woman-driven Dakar 2024 Astara campaign as the Spanish mobility company is set to field two entries in the treacherous desert race this coming January 5 to 19, 2024.

Set to drive the Astara 02 Concept, Laia Sanz and Patricia Pita will have co-drivers Maurizio Gerini and Paolo Boggioni, respectively, to guide them through the 12 stages crossing the Saudi Arabian desert. 

Astara, for those who do not know yet, is the distributor of Peugeot and GAC in the Philippines. It also operates in 18 other countries in Europe and South America as a distributor to various car brands in those regions.

For the third consecutive year, the team is committed to synthetic fuel, this time enhancing its formulation to achieve a completely carbon-neutral footprint (zero emissions) in its competition vehicles, compared to 90% in 2023 and 70% in 2022.    

According to Astara, the synthetic fuel its Dakar T1.2 Ultimate category entries will use is completely carbon-neutral with zero environmental impact. The CO2 emitted during combustion is the same as extracted from the air during the production process.

Astara adds, "It does not produce solid waste or microparticles. Its production is based on obtaining synthesis gas—using renewable energy—that undergoes successive chemical processes, resulting in an ecological liquid hydrocarbon easy to use, store, and transport.  The energy efficiency of synthetic fuel is 12% higher than that of gasoline."

Now, who says you can't go racing without harming the environment?