Stage 9 Ha’il → Al Ula

The expedition back to Al Ula has surely brought back some memories. However, it was not a return to square one, because the situation has evolved considerably since the prologue.

← Stage 8

Stage 10 →

The return journey spared the competitors from the volcanic rocks, instead opting for the northern route from Al Duwadimi, which nevertheless shared some common ground with the previous visit.

Liaison → 222 km

Special → 430 km

Over the majority of the 417-kilometre special, the riders, drivers and crews had to be doubly vigilant, by carefully riding or driving to avoid punctures on the rocky portions and then by paying extreme attention to reading the roadbook when faced with the wealth of tracks in front of them.

Press releases

Boss Machinery Team de Rooy FPT

Janus Jr., Marcel and Darek started out really good and overtook Loprais whom started the stage before them. Unfortunately after they experienced some difficulties and could not climb the dunes that well anymore. Now and again, they got stuck in some really dusty and sandy parts, which made the overall pace considerably lower than expected.

And like teammate Michiel, they helped out Mitchel van den Brink to quickly repair their truck. But this took only five minutes when two of our best mechanics Darek Rodewald and Wuf van Ginkel came to the rescue.

After helping out they continued to pick up the pace and made up for lost time. Then they overtook Michiel again only to hit their steering mechanism on sharp rocks later down the line. This needed some reparations but with some help of Wuf van Ginkel it was repaired pretty quick.

With all these distractions in helping and repairing they missed one waypoint and had to get back around again. All in all this stage was really rough and tough all over, still they came in on a good 7th place with +37m37s behind the first to finish. And showed proper teamwork and dedication to other competitors.

Becx Competition Team de Rooy FPT

This was a extreme long day for Michiel, Edwin and Wuf with 430 km special stage. Luckily their starting position was much better than yesterday and the first 200 km were absolutely beautiful to drive through. Then they’ve helped MItchel Brink because he had a defect on his turbo, Janus and Vick arrived soon after that to also helped out and get him back on track.

After lending hands with our teammates, and Vick Versteijnen, Janus overtook them again but noticed they missed a waypoint so had to get back later on. Otherwise they would have finished the stage together to function as each others backup, just in case. Teamwork at its best.

After continuing this tough stage the terrain drastically changed and looked like a moon landscape with many sharp rocks and lava-like surfaces. Janus, again, overtook them with a fast pace but later broken down their steering mechanism so Becx Competition Team de Rooy FPT helped them out again.

The last part of the stage the sun got real low and the dust was immens, almost impossible to drive through. This final part was really hard and they struggled to make it to the finish line while maintaining proper speed. Eventually finished with a good 8th place, with only 39 minutes after first rank.

Ladies Team de Rooy FPT

Anja van Loon is starting to feel the Dakar after a tough stage

After nine stages in the Dakar Rally, Anja van Loon, Floor Maten and Marije van Ettekoven are starting to notice that the toughness of the rally is starting to take its toll. On the long stage, the ladies are sent crisscrossing plateaus. Nevertheless, they make no mistakes and the Iveco Powerstar passes the stage without any problems.

Today’s stage is certainly not on the list of the Anja’s favourite stages. “It was physically the toughest stage so far. It was long and annoying with all kinds of loops over rocks and lava. We’ve been shaken up again and it just hurts. But, we are back. One day closer to the finish.”

The ladies make no mistakes in the cabin. “It was sometimes difficult, especially with the low sun at the end of the day. Then navigation becomes a bit more difficult, but we reached all the waypoints. So we are satisfied. No punctures either and the truck is holding up very well.”

The tenth stage is a long loop around Al Ula. A lot of stones and gravel are expected again. The stage is 371 kilometers long and passes through the monumental rocks and canyons of this region.