Dakar 2021
In the time of COVID-19, organiser ASO created a “rally bubble”: participants and other parties were required to be tested for the Coronavirus no more than 72 hours before departure for Saudi Arabia. You were only allowed onto the charter flight organised by ASO with a negative test result. Upon arrival in Jeddah, the entire team was required to spend 48 hours in quarantine at the hotel before being tested again – this time by the organisation. After receiving only negative test results, the team was allowed to pick up the trucks at the port on 30 December. They had been shipped earlier from Marseilles to Jeddah by boat. The shakedown on 1 January provided an opportunity to test the trucks and get used to the IVECO truck, which was a new acquisition.
Team DAF had many problems in the first week, mainly due to a recurring defect in the steering rod. This resulted in two nights stuck in the dunes, which resulted in the team arriving at the bivouac too late and dropping out of the actual rally. The team was allowed to continue in the “Dakar Experience”, a fairly new category in which teams can continue to drive the route but are no longer classified in the regular rankings. The DAF team had considerably fewer problems in this Experience class than in the regular rally but another broken steering rod resulted in another stay in the dunes and another arrival after the finish time set by the organisation. Unfortunately, this also meant the end of participation in the Experience class for team DAF.
After a good start, team IVECO was soon confronted with a seized wheel bearing on the way to the stage. The team was unable to start this rally day, which meant they also moved to the “Dakar Experience”. The IVECO went very well in the Experience rally with a position between 10th and 15th – a great achievement for a rookie team! On day 9, the truck ended up on its side in the dunes but with the help of the German team South Racing, the IVECO was able to continue on its way with the crew unharmed. The trucks went back to Marseille by boat and the team returned to Schiphol by plane.
This rally has its name and fame for a good reason – it proved to be a tough challenge. Although not everything went smoothly and it was very demanding on the entire team, they all look back positively on a great experience with team spirit as an important common denominator!
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