At 58 years of age, the two-time World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz Cenamor, has recently been awarded the title of Best WRC Driver and they have just awarded him the very important Princess of Asturias Award 2020 And no wonder!
On May 4th, both fans and a specific panel of 6 journalists who are experts in this motorsport modality agreed - in a tacit agreement - that Carlos Sainz Senior is worthy of the title that is credited to him: the WRC driver with the best career and today it has been made public that he will also be awarded with the Princess of Asturias Award 2020
To do this, they have taken into consideration, in addition to titles and victories, other important aspects such as mechanical ability, speed, courage, and impeccable technique... all factors that go beyond the objective, and that Carlos Sainz has undoubtedly demonstrated throughout his career as a driver, and also in his more personal facets, as a husband and proud father of three children.
Thus, having obtained 57.28% of the total votes in the poll launched on April 3 this year by the promoters of the World Rally Championship (a competition organised by the International Automobile Federation which has been held annually since 1973), the Madrid-born driver has won in the category as the best driver in the history of the WRC, defeating the next best, the Frenchman Sébastien Loeb.
“I couldn’t be happier and prouder of this recognition,” Sainz said in a statement on the competition’s website. “Thank you very much for bringing me firstly to the final and, of course, secondly, for allowing me to win this recognition against Sébastien Loeb” … “I don’t need to tell you how much I value Sébastien Loeb and how much he deserves to be the greatest. But I have to say that not only him, all the world champions deserve this recognition. But someone has to win and, in this case, it was me,” the driver continued.
WRC Promoter Oliver Ciesla congratulated Carlos on adding to his many achievements: “He was already a WRC legend thanks to his incredible driving skills on the most brutally tough and unforgiving terrain on the planet. This award confirms the esteem in which he is held by fans and experts alike. He is known as King Carlos – he is now officially the King of the WRC!” said Ciesla, adding: “Sébastien (Loeb) is statistically the most successful driver in WRC history. But we wanted fans to think beyond the numbers when choosing their best driver.”
CARLOS SAINZ, THE 'KILLER'.
The MUSA Claudio Coello clinic in Madrid welcomed the fourth and last brother of the Sainz Cenamor family on April 12, 1962. He began to play sports at a very young age, starting with skiing at the age of 7, when he also took tennis and soccer lessons. He also participated in other sports such as squash (for which he won a national title and two runner-up positions), athletics and boxing.
His first contact with cars came at the age of 11, when he tried driving a SEAT 600 with his older sister, Carmen, who had just bought one. Later, he had close contact with Juan Carlos Oñoro, who was an official Chrysler driver and who would later become his brother-in-law. From then on, he entered the world of motor racing with his brother Toño, with whom he would go out near the house to try out skidding and manoeuvres, which would make him fall in love with the sport forever.
At the age of 18, he set himself the goal of participating in the Shalymar Rally with Juanjo Lacalle in December 1980, which would then be the big step in his introduction to the world of rallies.
In 1981, the Subida a la Silla de Felipe II, the recently launched Copa Nacional Seat Panda and the Copa Renault Iniciación were held. That year, Carlos Sainz became fully interested in circuit racing, but it was in 1982 when he became an official driver in this type of competition, the year in which he travelled to the Isola 2000 ski resort at the invitation of Seat to compete. It was then decided that Carlos would drive from then on, and Juanjo would be in charge of co-driving.
His performances with the Panda that year would earn him national fame, and also the competitive boost that would make him shine in his performances from that point onwards. By 1983, Renault had confidence in Sainz and his abilities, counting on his participation in the Renault National Cup.
Year after year, the public saw Carlos Sainz grow with impeccable skills as a main driver, who surpassed himself with each competition in which he participated and stood out.
Nicknamed 'Matador', Carlos was world champion in 1990 and 1992 (both times with Toyota), runner-up in 1991 (Toyota), 1994 (Subaru), 1995 (Subaru) and 1998 (Toyota), and also celebrated third place on 5 occasions in 1996, 1997, 2000 and 2002 (Ford), and then once more in 2003 (Citroen).
The driver from Madrid was one of the most consistent drivers in the WRC. He took part in 196 races throughout his career, winning 26 of them and achieving 97 podium finishes.
Sainz remained closely linked to the world of motorsports, serving as an advisor to the Royal Spanish Automobile Federation and also as a rally driver for the official Volkswagen team.
After his participation in WRC, he began competing in Dakar, a competition in which he stood out among his competitors, and in which he obtained first position in 2010, 2018, and 2020.
In his more educational role, Carlos Sainz has been willing to help a significant number of young drivers in their respective sports careers, including Dani Sordo and Jan Solans. In addition, he collaborated with the Peugeot España Racing Team, joined Ford in training projects for young drivers, and even advised the Guadarrama XII Armoured Brigade of the Spanish Army (2014) on issues related to manoeuvres and movements in desert areas.
His son, Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr., celebrated his father's birthday last April with an emotional letter published on the official online platform of the F1 World Championship in which he expresses infinite admiration, pride and gratitude towards Carlos Sainz Sr., along with the most authentic anecdotes of someone who has seen him climb, succeed and work very hard to achieve his dreams all his life.
Carlos Sainz Cenamor has been the only Spanish driver to be crowned World Rally Champion. His talent, daily preparation, exceptional technique and drive have led him to build a highly successful career in this and all its facets in the world of motorsport that continue to this day, earning him the admiration of experts and his fans.
