Home » Van Loon Racing happy that Dakar 2025 has begun

Van Loon Racing happy that Dakar 2025 has begun

With the prologue behind them, the Dakar Rally has officially begun. Erik van Loon and Hein Verschuuren were the best in the H4 class, while Anja van Loon, Jan and Ben van de Laar were satisfied with the ninth time just over a minute from Mitchel van den Brink.

Anja thought the prologue of the Dakar was a great opening. “It was an excellent start to the rally. We were able to drive fast. The tracks were already deep though and the last part we were bothered by the dust. I am totally happy that it has started!”

The differences were small among the trucks. With the Iveco Powerstar, Anja, Jan and Ben finished ninth at 1 minute and 8 seconds behind. “That’s just an excellent result, the gap for us is 12 seconds, but we have a lead of 43 seconds. We started well, so we may start a little further forward tomorrow.”

Erik realized that the Dakar Classic is really a different game. “We had to open, but it’s different here than in the regular Dakar. We are told in advance how fast we have to drive over a certain stretch, everything we drive faster or slower results in penalty points. So it’s not about the fastest driver, but the one who keeps the best speed. In our category, with the Audi’s, that was me today. On to tomorrow!”

Tomorrow the first stage of the rally is scheduled, a loop of around Bisha. For Anja, Jan and Ben there is a 413 kilometer trial planned, for Erik and Hein it is 337 kilometers. It promises to be a versatile and varied test, which actually includes everything. Follow Anja, Jan and Ben at https://www.dakar.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com/en/car/ and Erik and Hein at https://new.jbtc.be/live/dkc2025

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