Stage 14 AL-Hofuf – Dammam
Stage for today contains 281km liaison and 136km special stage.
Stage info
Liaison > 281 km – Special > 136 km
Press release
Janus van Kasteren jr. wins Dakar 2023!
Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco started the Dakar rally with high ambitions. The team went into battle with two Iveco Powerstar rally trucks. Unfortunately, Vick Versteijnen, Teun van Dal and André van der Sande with start number 504, had to give up quite early in the rally due to technical issues.
Today, this disappointment is offset by the euphoria of the overall victory by the team with start number 502. It is Janus van Kasteren jr. and Marcel Snijders who claim victory in a Dakar rally for the first time. It is already his third title for mechanic Darek Rodewald. In 2012 and 2016 he won the rally alongside Gerard de Rooy.
With a big lead in the general classification, Janus van Kasteren jr. did not have to go to the limit on the last stage. The 138-kilometer special stage went over the beach alongside the Persian Gulf north to Dammam. Janus Junior, Marcel and Darek managed in their Iveco Powerstar to finish without any problems.
With a delta of only 6 minutes and 1 second, they clocked a seventh fastest time today. Tatra pilot Paskevicius from Lithuania took the stage victory, just ahead of Team De Rooy pilot Mitchel van den Brink. The Czech Valtr took third place. The leading position of Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco in the general classification was not a moment at risk.
Janus jr. told his story shortly after the finish: “It was still a slippery stage but we stayed calm and had a super party with the mechanics at the finish. Everything is new to me of course. Looking back, it was a wonderful rally. In the beginning, of course, I had some problems, but in the second week I was able to drive very fast. Indescribable. It still needs to sink in a bit. Darek is pretty relaxed about it all. He already had two victories, but Marcel and I didn’t.” The experienced Darek Rodewald also briefly looks back on his 12th Dakar: “It was a tough rally, but that’s what we need to win.”
Apart from the retirement of Vick Versteijnen, the first week of the Dakar rally was characterized by great duels with Mitchel Van den Brink. As usual, Corné van Drunen worked hard with his mechanics to solve the technical problems: “In the beginning it was difficult. But it just goes to show that you shouldn’t give up and always keep going.
Other teams also had a hard time. It was a true battlefield. After Janus’ finish today everybody relaxed. We have done it again. For me the third victory with Team De Rooy. Now there is some time to rest, but next week I will start thinking about how we can do better next year. All in all, it was a super rally that I will not quickly forget.” After the great work of Corné and his mechanics, the difference could be made in the second week.
When leader Ales Loprais retired from the rally after being involved in a tragic, fatal accident, the Boss Machinery Team De Rooy Iveco crew took the lead in the general classification. In the tough specials through the Empty Quarter, however, the team with start number 502 showed that the team and the Iveco Powerstar were very fast.
Martin Macik and fellow Team De Rooy pilot Martin van den Brink battled for the podium places. In the twelfth stage, Van Kasteren jr., Snijders and Rodewald were able to create a definitive gap. That day they laid the foundation for the overall victory. The Czech Macik finished in second place and the experienced Martin from Harskamp took his first podium ever with third place.
Team owner Gerard De Rooy looks back with satisfaction. “Our goal was to win this Dakar and we succeeded. Super well done by Janus, Marcel and Darek. Hats off. It was a great pity that Martin (Van den Brink – ed.) was unable to keep second place, but it was wonderful to see him on the podium. He was very unlucky the last few days and really deserves to be there. A real reward for the whole team. Mitchel (Van den Brink – ed.) has also presented himself very well, as a real team player. His time will come.”
Navigator Marcel Snijders finally summarizes it all: “It was a rally with ups and downs, but overall a super nice rally and I think we deserved to win.”
“Not done yet with Dakar, we certainly want more”
Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco happy with third and fourth place
DAMMAM – Martin and Mitchel van den Brink return to Harskamp with the trophy and medals for third and fourth place respectively in the 2023 Dakar Rally. “We are very pleased, but we certainly want more.”
Today Martin van den Brink finished fifth. Mitchel was again close to a stage victory. The young Harskamper once again showed his speed and finished second in the stage for the sixth time. “We went for the win today, but just fell short.”
The final chord of the 45th Dakar Rally was a short special on the beach along the Persian Gulf. It certainly wasn’t the toughest special. For the real rally pilots a great opportunity to complete their list of honors with a victory. That was also the plan of Mitchel, Moi Torrallardona and Jarno van de Pol.
After 136 kilometers of racing through the sand, the team was seven seconds short of a stage victory. The Lithuanian Vaidotas Paskevicius messed up the plans for Mitchel in his Tatras. “Today there were no team orders so I wanted to win. We lost too much time on the first part. Then we made up a lot of time in the last part, but overall, we just fell a bit short.”
Learned much
With a victory, six second places and a fourth place in the final standings, the 21-year-old Harskamper has no reason to complain. “I am certainly satisfied. It’s a pity that we lost so much time in the second stage because of those four punctures. But we learned a lot again and that was also one of the goals.”
The loss of time for Mitchel and his co-pilots in the first week partly determined his role in the second week. “After the rest day we had to supply so called fast assistance to the other 2 pilots of our team. We really raced and competed as a team. Very nice that Janus takes the win for Team De Rooy.”
Behind the winner from Veldhoven, Martin Macik took second place in front of Martin. Fourth place for Mitchel was never in danger. The lead on the number five (Jaroslav Valtr) is more than an hour. “I am happy with this result and with our performance throughout the rally. We have shown that we can compete with the top players. That gives confidence for the future. Now we are going to enjoy it first and next year I hope to be able to take another step.”
“Tastes for more”
Martin van den Brink, Erik Kofman and Richard Mouw will have to report on the podium in Dammam this evening for the final ceremony. The trophy for third place will be on board the airplane tomorrow going home to the Harskamp. “We are satisfied,” said Martin just after the last special stage.
“We had a bit of bad luck with the technique, but we also drove an excellent rally,” said the leader of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco. “In addition to the victory for Janus, this is a great result for Team De Rooy. Our third place and the fourth place for Mitchel certainly make me happy. We have shown that we can compete for the win. We are certainly not done with the Dakar yet.”
At the end of the special, both trucks of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco were welcomed by dozens of fans. “I really enjoy seeing so many friends at the finish,” said 52-year-old Harskamper. “My wife, daughter, all members of Team De Rooy, Dennis Marsman the director of Eurol and Gert Bouwman gave us a warm and festive welcome. It was very nice.”
Eindhoven airport
The teams will bring all vehicles to the port today. After the ceremony, the men of Eurol Team De Rooy Iveco will spend the night in Bahrain. Monday morning the team leaves for the airport at 7:30 am. After a stopover in Bulgarian Burgas, the formation is expected to land at 4.25 pm at the airport in Eindhoven.
Results
Last stage of this rally is short and heavy but our team has completed it with good pace.
Stage timing
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5
7
dnf
| Stage Rank | Number | Driver | Rally stage time | Time gap to first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 511 | Mitchel van den Brink | 1h18m41s | +07s |
| 5 | 506 | Martin van den Brink | 1h21m54s | +3m20s |
| 7 | 502 | Janus van Kasteren | 1h24m35s | +6m01s |
Stage analytics
Stage tracking
Overall rally competition Trucks
After rally stage 10
| Overall Rank | Number | Driver | Rally overall time | Gap to first | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 502 | Janus van Kasteren | 54h03m33s | – | +15m00s |
| 3 | 506 | Martin van den Brink | 56h43m55s | +2h40m22s | – |
| 4 | 511 | Mitchel van den Brink | 58h06m02s | +4h02m29s | +1m00s |
| X | 504 | Vick Versteijnen | dnf | dnf | – |
Videos
Video by Rallymaniacs
Video by Omroep Brabant
Video by A.S.O.
Video by IVECO coming soon…
Photos
Photos from photographers Rallymaniacs, MMPhoto, Fotop and Ronald Loedeman 😎
