Dubai International Baja 2022: Erik and Anja van Loon head to Dubai for final preparation for Dakar

On Thursday, December 1, Erik and Anja van Loon will start in the Dubai International Baja, the last preparatory rally leading up to Dakar 2023. While Erik and Sébastien Delaunay are going for the win, for Anja it will be the first encounter with Dmytro Tsyro as navigator. Both Erik (203) and Anja (303) have been given start number 3 within their class.

Erik van Loon is very much looking forward to the last rally of the season. "In one month the Dakar Rally starts in Saudi Arabia, so it is very nice that we can still drive now. The most important thing for Sébastien and me is that we finish and get the car all ready for the Dakar. It would be very nice if we manage to win, but it won't be easy against Yazeed Al-Rajhi. We will go for it, but optimizing the Toyota for Dakar is our main goal. The car is Dakar-ready, so it's actually the last big shakedown in which we can fine-tune a bit more and go to Saudi Arabia with a good feeling."

For Anja van Loon, the rally has another purpose, which is the first introduction to Dmytro Tsyro. "It is an exciting change though with one rally to go before Dakar, but Dmytro is very experienced and has shown to be a good navigator. I'm very curious to see what he can teach me. It will take some getting used to, with Lisette and Jan I could speak Dutch, that will be a bit harder with Dmytro. But as long as we both speak the language of the rally, it should be fine. I am very much looking forward to it."

In addition, Anja is very curious about the dunes in the Middle East. "It is of course near Saudi Arabia and I have heard several stories from Erik about the dunes in Dubai. I want to learn a lot about that during the rally. We are also driving a newly rebuilt Can-Am so it will also be important to set it up well before the Dakar starts at the end of December."

The rally begins on December 1 with the shakedown and inspections. Two tests will be run on Friday, December 2, and 2 tests will also be run on Saturday, December 3. A total of 390 kilometers will be covered at speed.

Automatic translation from the original Dutch version
Source Van Loon Racing