10 things you didn't know about Carlos Sainz: A rally legend

If you are a lover of sports in all its versions and especially rally, this post interests you. Carlos Sainz, or also known as “El Matador”, is considered the best rally driver in history and the best retired world championship driver.

he was twice world rally champion in 1990 and 1992 at the hands of Toyota. He also has the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. In addition, he is a person with charisma, dedication and a great competitive spirit. For this reason, and thanks to his undoubted talent, the pilot is an athlete admired and praised by all sports lovers. If you are also a fan of cars, speed and competition, stay here to discover 10 curiosities about the professional and personal life of Carlos Sainz that you may not have known.

1. Where and when was Carlos Sainz born?

The pilot was born on April 12, 1962 in the Community of Madrid, more specifically in the Salamanca district. It was in the capital of Spain where Sainz grew up and formalized his high school studies while fully entering the world of sports.

2. Was Sainz the Spanish Squash Champion?

Indeed. The pilot has always been a great lover of the sport. From a very young age, the man from Madrid was attracted to multiple disciplines such as squash, golf, tennis, soccer, athletics and boxing. His parents enrolled him in tennis lessons when he was only 7 years old and it was there that he gained the perseverance and tenacity necessary to become a professional athlete. In addition, Sainz became Spanish Squash champion at the age of 16, a discipline with which he was also proclaimed runner-up in Spain on two occasions and with which he has achieved great success since he began to practice it.

3. Did you know that the first car the driver drove was his sister's?

At the early age of 11 Sainz first felt the adrenaline of driving in a Seat 600 belonging to his older sister Carmen, who sat in the driver's seat and let her brother move the steering wheel carefully without knowing that this would become his great passion for the rest of his life.

It was at this same time when the expilot began to get a lot of miniature cars that he would later collect from his brother Toño de él. Shortly after, Carlos was able to meet the driver Juan Carlos Oñoro in person, who taught him how a racing car works for the first time. These and many other feats were to blame for Sainz becoming more and more fond of cars and the world of driving.

4. What did Carlos Sainz study?

After finishing his secondary studies at the Colegio Retamar in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), the young Sainz enrolled in a university degree in Law, training that he ended up abandoning in his second year due to the dedication that the rally required . For this reason, Sainz fully invested in his career as a professional pilot, and of course, nothing has gone wrong for him.

5. Why did Sainz forge a license at the age of 17?

At the age of 17, the pilot's grandfather gave his grandson a Montesa Capra 125 motorcycle, a contraption with which the young Carlos decided to enroll behind his family's back in a motocross race that was held at the Casa de Campo de Madrid. Since his father was not very keen on signing the competition license for his son to participate in the race, Sainz forged his signature in order to register for it.

6. Did you know that Sainz drove Juanjo La Calle's car and surprised him with his maneuvers?

Juanjo Lacalle , who has also been the manager and mentor of his son Carlos Sainz Junior, has experienced all the pilot's successes hand in hand. One of his first forays into the rally was driving a Seat 131 through the Alps, where Sainz asked Lacalle to let him drive his car through the snowy roads, and to his surprise, he did a great job. So much so that Lacalle himself recognized Sainz's talent and asked him to choose him as a companion in his first race. Since then they have not separated.

7. Do you know the Madrid side of the driver?

Sainz, who has always faithfully shown his passion and support for football since he was very young, has grown up seeing the successes of Real Madrid through his family. That is why, in addition to enjoying the games in the stands of the Bernabéu as a fan, the pilot went a step further with his proposal in 2006: he presented his candidacy to the white club to fill the position of president that had become free in that same year. Something that the team's managers rejected, but they did proclaim him an honorary member in 2020 for his eagerness to win and Madrid spirit that identifies the team so much.

8. Did you compete for Cïtroen in the 2005 World Cup after you retired?

After Sainz's decision to withdraw from the world rally championships, Cïtroen asked him as a favor to participate in the rallies in Greece and Turkey to get the brand's other driver, Duval, to score points with his help . Not only did he meet the expectations of Guy Frequelin, Cïtroen's director at the time, but he also demonstrated once again with his first and third place that his performance was still sky-high after his retirement and 17 seasons of racing.

9. Sainz created together with Ford a project to train new pilots.

It was in the year 2000 when Carlos Sainz founded, together with Ford, a proposal with which to hunt and train new talents from the world of rallying. Some of the young drivers that Sainz instructed in the company of Ford professionals were Oscar Fuentes, Fernando Medina, Esteban Vallín and Txus Jaio, who became Spanish gravel rally champion two consecutive years: in 2002 and 2003. .

10. Did you know that Sainz is an adviser to the army?

In addition to his passion for sports, in 2014 he showed his support for the Spanish army forces by becoming an adviser to the Guadarrama XII Armored Brigade, granting him the power to carry out displacements and obligations in desert areas .

Now that you know a little more about the personal life and successes of Carlos Sainz, you certainly don't want to miss out on what's to come. The driver has earned the fame and affection of rally fans for his talent, tenacity and personality. Undoubtedly, an athlete who has proven to be a great professional, but also a great person throughout his career.