The first real stage in this edition… after the prologue we went pedal to the medal!

Stage info

Starting from the Sea Camp we head up to

Liaison > 234 km Special > 367 km

Press release

“We drove very consistently and safely”

Mitchel van den Brink flawless through the first stage

SEA CAMP – “We had a nice day. I am satisfied with the result and especially the way we drove today.” After a surprising second place in the prologue, Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco achieved another podium finish in the first stage.

Martin van den Brink had less reasons to be satisfied. De Harskamper was faced again with some technical issues. However, Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco managed to limit the damage with a tenth place. “There will be new opportunities in the coming days. Despite the bad luck, I am still satisfied.”

The victory in the real opening round of the 2023 Dakar Rally was for Martin Macik. The Czech was 6 minutes and 1 second ahead of his compatriot Ales Loprais. Mitchel and his co-pilots Moi Torrallardona and Jarno van de Pol held their own very well and are content with the backlog of 10m18s. “Yes, we are certainly satisfied with that,” said the 20-year-old rally driver from Harskamp.

“We didn’t make a single mistake”

Just after the 367-kilometer stage, which started and finished in Sea Camp, Mitchel sounded enthusiastic and satisfied. “It was also a beautiful day. I really drove very consistently and especially conservative. We didn’t make a single mistake and that gives a good feeling.”

According to Mitchel, today’s tactics are the basis for the coming days. “On the advice of Moi (Torrallardona), we consciously opted for a speed below the maximum. We can certainly take it up a notch, but this week we mainly want to survive and then possibly try to attack in the dunes next week.”

Mitchel’s combat style also has an advantage for the truck itself. “The Iveco Powerstar is doing very well and is getting much less impact this way. Maybe we can pick up the pace quite a bit in the next few days to narrow the gap to Macik a bit. We can only be satisfied so far. It’s going well that way. We are already looking forward to tomorrow.”

“It is all about damage control.”

This also applies to Van den Brink senior. ,,We have managed to limit the damage and we really see opportunities to achieve a better classification in the coming days. It’s a pity that we had a bit of trouble today and couldn’t fight with the leaders,” said Martin just after finishing the special stage. “It was a beautiful stage, by the way. To my point of view a real Dakar stage. Many trucks got into problems and the time differences are big. We enjoyed the variation in the course and the technical parts. The dunes were beautiful and certainly not too soft which was due to the rain of the past few days.

The fact that Martin, Richard Mouw and navigator Erik Kofman in the end lost 35m10s to winner Macik had one important reason. “During the first hundred kilometers, the electronic accelerator did not function properly. We reset the system three times but that didn’t help. We then decided to stop and replace the accelerator pedal sensor. That took about twenty minutes. After that it went very well and I am satisfied with the result.”

“Hats off to the organization”

On the first real test, more teams had to accept setbacks. “We saw that Vick (Versteijnen) and Gert Huzink were standing still. They lost even more time today. I don’t think everyone will arrive in the bivouac before dark either. Yes, it’s a nice start to the rally. Hats off to the organization. We look forward to the next stages with great pleasure and I expect that we will be able to participate in the battle for the leading positions without technical problems.”

Results

Stage results

Stage Rank	Number	Driver	Stage time	Gap to first
3	511	Mitchel van den Brink	4h06m36s	+9m18s
5	502	Janus van Kasteren	4h12m46s	+15m28s
10	506	Martin van den Brink	4h31m28s	+34m10s
25	504	Vick Versteijnen	7h41m01s	+3h43m43s

Videos

Video by Rallymaniacs

Video by Omroep Brabant

Photos

Photos from photographers Rallymaniacs, MMPhoto, Fotop and Ronald Loedeman 😎