The Team De Rooy wins the 2012 Dakar Rally in trucks!
ECI - Created 01/18/2012, 04:37:24 pm - Updated on 01/18/2012, 04:38:09 pm
The Team De Rooy won the 2012 Dakar Rally with Gerard de Rooy behind the wheel of his Iveco Powerstar. The winner finished the race in 45 hours 20 minutes and 47 seconds. The Dutch driver has finally made his dream come true, twenty five years after his father Jan de Rooy became champion.
The Team De Rooy and Dakar: a long history together
This year, the Dutch truck driver competed in the Dakar Rally for the 9th time. Although he was forced to drop out 3 times (in 2011, 2007 and 2003), Gerard De Rooy had never abandoned his dream to win this difficult race. He had already had successful races before, and he finally managed to secure the first place in this 2012 edition.
The winning truck: an Iveco Powerstar reconditioned for the race
Iveco has created a truck prototype called Strator specifically for the 2012 Dakar Rally. It is built on the basis of original frame of Iveco Powerstar. The new truck is powered by a six-cylinder unit (up to 600kW). On the starting line, the Strator weighs nearly 9 tons. According to Gerard de Rooy, it was the best truck he has ever driven in a Dakar rally.
The Dakar Rally 2012: Truck Ranking
1 – Gerard De Rooy (The Netherlands) behind the wheel of Iveco Powerstar Strator
2 – Hans Stacey (The Netherlands) behind the wheel of Iveco Trakker Evolution II
3 – Artur Ardavichus (Kazakhstan) behind the wheel of Kamaz 4623
