The Swedish Pewano-team desert enthusiast Pelle Wallentheim has died after a short illness. The project with Volvo Cars of the Dakar Rally will be run entirely unchanged in Pelle’s spirit – however, a new driver is found to the first car that is ready to be tested.
Pelle was a great entrepreneur and a dedicated motor sport with an explicit goal: To bring Rally Raid on the Swedish map, and a Swedish team on the international map. Following an earlier career in the usual rallying he gave at the Rally Raid a few years ago. He did include completing two Dakar Rallys, where he was among the fastest private pilots after the factory teams.
Hans “Hasse” Sönksen, team manager and Pelle´s right hand in the project, is that in practice, take over and run the project, which is a company with big industrial interests. The goal is to build more cars, and the first Volvo XC60: an was ready to be tested very recently – around the time that Pelle left mortality. The first task of the Hasse will be to find a new driver.
The project he started a company named Pewano AB, has the goal of having, as far as possible, Swedish and Swedish technology knowledge to build a car that will challenge the factory teams in the FIA World Cup – but especially in the Dakar Rally.
Marathonrally.com
