In the Rally Dakar, the co-driver plays a crucial role. Navigation, roadbook interpretation and real-time decision-making are key to progressing stage after stage through the desert. At the Santana Racing Team, that seat is occupied by Edu Blanco, CEO of Santana Motors and head of the brand’s sporting project, who at the Dakar 2026 is competing alongside Jesús Calleja aboard the Santana Pick-Up T1+ Ultimate.
Edu Blanco’s presence inside the cockpit reflects the direct link between Santana Motors and motorsport. Before leading the return of the historic Spanish brand to the automotive industry in 2025, Blanco built an extensive career in the world of rally raid, first as a co-driver and later as a team manager in some of the most demanding events on the international calendar.
Since his early days in motorsport in Argentina in the early 1990s, his career has been closely tied to off-road racing and navigation. After winning the Argentine Rally Championship co-driver title in 1997, he stepped onto the international stage, taking part from the year 2000 onwards in the Rally Dakar and in World Championship cross-country rally events. The Dakar 2026 marks his eighteenth participation in the legendary rally.
Throughout his sporting career, Edu Blanco has been involved in top-level factory projects and has contributed to the development of technical solutions under extreme conditions. Among these, the Acciona EcoPowered stands out as a major milestone, becoming the first 100% electric competition vehicle to complete the Rally Dakar in 2017, a breakthrough moment in the application of new technologies to motorsport.
For Santana Motors, competing in the Rally Dakar represents far more than a sporting challenge. The event serves as a real-world laboratory in which to test the reliability, durability and performance of its vehicles. For this reason, alongside the competition prototype, the brand has brought two production pick-ups to Saudi Arabia, the Santana 400 D and the Santana 400 PHEV, which are integrated into the team’s logistics structure and used intensively throughout the rally.
The Santana Racing Team was created as part of the brand’s relaunch, with the aim of transferring the values that define Santana Motors to the sporting arena: robustness, perseverance and the ability to perform in any environment. The collaboration with Jesús Calleja and the technical support of Century Racing have made it possible to build a coherent project, fully aligned with the identity of the brand’s road vehicles.
During the Rally Dakar 2026, Edu Blanco combines his role as co-driver with coordinating the team and overseeing Santana Motors’ industrial project directly from the desert. A clear example of how the brand understands competition as a tool for learning and international projection, in line with the new chapter Santana Motors is now writing.
Edu Blanco’s presence inside the cockpit reflects the direct link between Santana Motors and motorsport. Before leading the return of the historic Spanish brand to the automotive industry in 2025, Blanco built an extensive career in the world of rally raid, first as a co-driver and later as a team manager in some of the most demanding events on the international calendar.
Since his early days in motorsport in Argentina in the early 1990s, his career has been closely tied to off-road racing and navigation. After winning the Argentine Rally Championship co-driver title in 1997, he stepped onto the international stage, taking part from the year 2000 onwards in the Rally Dakar and in World Championship cross-country rally events. The Dakar 2026 marks his eighteenth participation in the legendary rally.
Throughout his sporting career, Edu Blanco has been involved in top-level factory projects and has contributed to the development of technical solutions under extreme conditions. Among these, the Acciona EcoPowered stands out as a major milestone, becoming the first 100% electric competition vehicle to complete the Rally Dakar in 2017, a breakthrough moment in the application of new technologies to motorsport.
For Santana Motors, competing in the Rally Dakar represents far more than a sporting challenge. The event serves as a real-world laboratory in which to test the reliability, durability and performance of its vehicles. For this reason, alongside the competition prototype, the brand has brought two production pick-ups to Saudi Arabia, the Santana 400 D and the Santana 400 PHEV, which are integrated into the team’s logistics structure and used intensively throughout the rally.
The Santana Racing Team was created as part of the brand’s relaunch, with the aim of transferring the values that define Santana Motors to the sporting arena: robustness, perseverance and the ability to perform in any environment. The collaboration with Jesús Calleja and the technical support of Century Racing have made it possible to build a coherent project, fully aligned with the identity of the brand’s road vehicles.
During the Rally Dakar 2026, Edu Blanco combines his role as co-driver with coordinating the team and overseeing Santana Motors’ industrial project directly from the desert. A clear example of how the brand understands competition as a tool for learning and international projection, in line with the new chapter Santana Motors is now writing.