Meet the Dutch Chairman of the Stewards at the Dakar Rally: Jan Seinen

It’s the year 1999. A teenager from Swifterbant in Flevoland stands by the roadside, mesmerized by the spectacle of the Zuiderzee Rally passing through. Twenty-six years later, that same man, now 43 years old, stands at the heart of the world’s greatest rally. Not as a spectator, but as Chairman of the Stewards. This is the story of Jan Seinen, the man who grew from village special stage to Dakar Rally.

A chance encounter

For Jan, it all started with curiosity. “In the late ’90s, I first came into contact with rally sport when a stage of the Zuiderzee Rally was run in the municipality of Dronten,” he tells us from his current hometown of Geldermalsen. As a motorsport fan, he finally wanted to see what he had always watched on television with such passion. That first time beside a special stage in 1999, followed by a visit to the service park in his own village, would change his life.

The real collaboration began in 2001, during a crisis no one had anticipated. The foot-and-mouth disease crisis forced organizers to modify routes and relocate the rally at the very last moment. Jan, then a traffic engineering student, was asked to create the traffic and safety plans needed for the new permits. “A great way to combine my studies with my love for motorsport,” he recalls with a smile. “And I even got free study credits for it!”

Climbing the ladder

What began as an emergency solution during his studies grew into a career. Jan felt at home in the organization of the Zuiderzee Rally. After several years as an organizer, he completed the training to become Clerk of the Course, and in 2013 he stood in that role for the first time at ‘his’ rally. “I felt very much in my element,” he says. In the following years, more appointments at Dutch rally championships followed.

The real breakthrough came in 2017, when the Zuiderzee Rally became part of the Scandinavian Rally Trophy, a regional FIA championship. For the first time, Jan worked with the international motorsport federation. A year later, he began training as a Steward with the KNAF, and in 2022 came the request to also work for the FIA.

“Initially at two rallies in the European Rally Trophy,” Jan explains. “But at the end of the year, there was an urgent request, ten days before the event, to replace one of the Stewards at the Cross-Country Baja in Saudi Arabia.” That trip to the Middle East would prove crucial. “I met a lot of people there who I now also work with at the Dakar Rally.”

More than just rallying

In the meantime, Jan built an impressive resume. From permanent Steward for the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux to twice stewarding the Porsche Super Cup in the Formula 1 support program at Zandvoort. For the FIA, he worked at various rallies in the ERC and ERT, and in the Cross-Country discipline at the World Rally Raid Championship and various Baja Cups worldwide.

When the question came in September whether he could attend the Dakar Rally as a Steward, Jan didn’t need long to think. “It seemed like a very exciting challenge to attend the world’s biggest rally as a Steward.”

What makes it extra special is that Jan does all this as a volunteer. Alongside his regular job, he dedicates his free time to his passion for motorsport. “It’s a volunteer role that I do alongside my normal work,” he explains. “But it does give me the opportunity to combine my hobby with valuable experiences all over the world.”

The silent guardians of the rulebook

But what does a Steward actually do? Jan explains calmly: “As Stewards, there are three of us in total, we ensure that both the organization and the participants comply with the regulations.” It sounds simple, but the reality is more complex.

Minor infringements are often already listed in the regulations with a specific penalty. The Clerk of the Course can handle those himself. But for larger issues, the Stewards come into action. “We conduct investigations, for example by reviewing video footage or using data from the cars’ tracking systems, but mainly by hearing from the participants involved.”

After that investigation, the three Stewards consult together and determine what penalty, if any, should follow. “Sometimes it also happens that after investigation it turns out there was no infringement. In that case, we take no further action.” Every decision is formally recorded and published on an official digital board, so all participants are informed.

Participants can also protest against penalties they believe were unjustly imposed, or indicate that a competitor has not adhered to the rules. In those cases too, the Stewards hear both parties and conduct thorough investigations.

Hoping for silence

For his first Dakar, Jan doesn’t know exactly what to expect. “Most of the time we’ll be traveling from bivouac to bivouac or present in our office for potentially making decisions.” Still, he hopes to see something of the rally itself, for example at the start of one of the special stages.

How important are the Stewards actually? Jan’s answer is surprisingly modest: “That purely depends on how the event unfolds. In principle, before departing for an event, I always say I hope to have as little to do as possible. It’s not about us, but about the participants.”

It’s a philosophy that shows his integrity. “Ultimately, it’s best for everyone if the competition is decided on the special stages and not in our office.” But he also acknowledges reality: “Sometimes, however, it happens that the result of a race or championship is decided by the handling of a protest or a decision by the Stewards. At that moment, the work can be very important.”

A career full of highlights

When we ask about his best memory, Jan refuses to choose just one. “I don’t really have one single best memory,” he says. “My first appointment at the Manx Rally in 2022 was very special, that was immediately my first international appointment. But being asked for a World Baja Cup in that same year as well. Also the first ERC rally and my first World Rally Raid Championship in Morocco were very special.”

It’s the diversity that touches him. “It’s precisely the variation between different types of events and the different countries and cultures you encounter that make this role so enjoyable.”

Coming full circle

When Jan looks back on his journey from enthusiastic spectator to Chairman of the Stewards at the Dakar Rally, he mainly feels gratitude. “It feels special and honorable that, exactly 25 years after I started as an official, I can now be present as a Steward at the world’s biggest rally.”

From Swifterbant to Saudi Arabia. From a stage in the Flevoland polder to the endless sand plains of the Dakar Rally. It’s a journey that began with curiosity and has no endpoint yet. And while Jan sits in his office in the bivouac, hoping for as little work as possible, he will undoubtedly think back occasionally to that teenager by the roadside in Dronten. The boy who watched rally cars race past in fascination, without knowing that he himself would one day be responsible for enforcing the rules at the world’s greatest rally.