Home » Hard day for Anja, Ben and Jan, Erik and Hein learn fast

Hard day for Anja, Ben and Jan, Erik and Hein learn fast

The first stage of the Dakar Rally was immediately one not to forget. Anja van Loon, Ben and Jan van de Laar faced a 419-kilometer stage in which both man and machine had to endure. Anja was determined behind the wheel and drove calmly over the difficult stage. Erik and Hein had a good day, in the navigation test they made a mistake which cost them a lot of penalty points, nevertheless they were satisfied and drove a good last regularity test.

Ben and Jan were impressed with their sister behind the wheel. “The way she drove, very calm and determined, deserves admiration. It was a tremendously challenging course with narrow trails, heavy rocks and trees that we could barely fit under with the truck. It was a first stage not to be forgotten.”

Where Anja was behind the wheel, Ben read the notes. “That went almost flawlessly, but I made a small mistake that fortunately was quickly fixed. As a result, we hardly lost any time. The course literally leaves its mark. Our Iveco is full of branches, needles and scratches from the trees we encountered along the way. Still, we are proud that we reached the finish line without any technical problems.”

Meanwhile, Team De Rooy’s mechanics are already busy getting the truck ready for the 48-hour stage scheduled for tomorrow. “The sun is slowly setting here now, but the mechanics are working hard to get the truck in top condition for tomorrow. Where we get to drive for 48 hours on a 967-kilometer stage, which means we have to spend the night somewhere in the desert. On to tomorrow!”

Erik and Hein were especially pleased with the final test. “It is so difficult to get the average speed in the H4 class, which is about 20 kilometers per hour higher than in the slower H1 and H2 classes. In the last test we finished fifth overall and that’s just really good. It went fine again, we made a mistake in the navigation test and that immediately costs a lot of points. The car is top notch and we are learning fast.”

Unlike regular Dakar participants, the Dakar Classic has a marathon stage of sorts. “We just sleep in the bivouac, we get to tinker for 1.5 hours and then the car goes into the parc fermé. So we don’t sleep on the test. I’m very curious to see what that’s going to be like!”

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Erik, Hein, Anja, Jan and Ben ready for the start of Dakar 2025

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