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Dakar 2024: De Rooy Iveco's reach the end of stage 11
Boss Machinery Team de Rooy FPT
Janus, Darek and Marcel went for gold today but started in 6th position which made picking up the pace harder in the dust clouds from predecessors. Soon they overtook Pascal de Baar but Michiel Becx was generating so much dust it was very hard to overtake their teammates.
Slowly but surely they could also overtake Michiel and came across Gert Huzink who came to a halt. After the second neutralisation at mark 333 km they had punctured a tire which they replaced very quickly.
50 km later they had punctured another tire and then ran out of spares, luckily Michiel Becx was on his way to lend their last spare tire.
The fast equipe really enjoyed todays stage and found it to be one of the most beautiful racing days of this years’ ultimate Dakar Rally. On to tomorrow.
Becx Competition Team de Rooy FPT
Stage 11 was a very long racing day, with 420 km in total. The stage was filled with lots of sharp stones, but due to Michiel fast reaction they only punctured one tire. #600 Janus van Kasteren Jr. punctured three tires today, so they stopped and gave one to Janus as a spare for the remainder of their journey.
At the end of the stage the sun got real low again which made driving in all the dust pretty hard. Lots and lots of dust but also many sharp rocks made it a very tough racing day.
Because of the many holes and dimps on the track there were many, many broken down cars and trucks on the way to the finish line. Michiel, Edwin and Wuf are very happy with a good 7th place and were lucky to cross the finish line before dark, because that would really have been challenging!
The men are preparing for a proper shower and meal, and in need of a good nights’ sleep, for the last stage is tomorrow with only 175 km special stage in total. But safety first, because still anything can happen.
Ladies Team de Rooy FPT
Anja van Loon counts down the kilometers during a long day
The penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally is a long and tough day for Anja van Loon, Floor Maten and Marije van Ettekoven
The terrain was varied, but most of the day was spent bouncing along trails. The ladies had a puncture along the way, but managed to replace the tire within 10 minutes. They are looking forward to the final stage.
“It was a matter of counting down every kilometer to the end of the day,” says Anja. “We had some small dunes and sand along the way, but it was mainly bouncing again today. On one of those narrow stony passages the right rear tire exploded. The three of us replaced it within 10 minutes, so that went well.”
The ladies finished in the dark. “The last part was in the dark, but mainly through narrow, dusty canyons. We really looked together to find the right path and it went well. We are now looking forward to the finish podium tomorrow, but at the same time time has flown by. Tomorrow we will have a good time.”
The last stage is a loop around Yanbu. The 174 kilometer stage contains sand and stones, so you have to pay attention until the last meter.
Source: Boss Machinery Team de Rooy FPT
Helder