Ales Loprais will (re-) join the team and is an extremely experienced pilot who has competed many times successfully in the Dakar Rally.

Ales will participate this year in Rallye du Maroc as preparation for the upcoming rally in Saudi Arabia.

David Kripal is a talented co-driver who has been competing in the cars since Dakar 2018.

The 42-year-old had a real adventure on Dakar 2023, when he was only supposed to be working as a photographer for Overdrive. Instead, he was thrown into a South Racing SSV at the last minute as a co-driver for Frenchman Antoine Galland, and they quickly discovered they had no common language. Despite all manner of hiccups, they made it to the finish line in Dammam (although officially DNF).

This is David’s first competitive outing in a truck.

David Křípal

Navigator

Darek Rodewald

Mechanic

Darek Rodewald is one of the best onboard mechanics in the business and has already won the Dakar 3 times.

The 41-year-old Pole is based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands and has described the Dakar as an ‘incurable disease’.

In 13 Dakar appearances, Darek has had nine top-5s, six podiums and three wins. He has successfully reached the finish line in every edition he has done since 2012.

New to the team is Vaidotas Žala, he is a well known Lithuanian rally and rally raid pilot who will try his luck in the truck category.

During testing Vaidotas has proven to be a great pilot and instantly got the right feeling for the rally truck. He impressed us with his driving skills and techniques.

Last but surely not least: Anja van Loon. She doesn’t need any further introduction after her first class performance during the Dakar in 2024.

Anja will join Team de Rooy for the upcoming rally in Saudi Arabia.

We have designed a complete new chassis, increasing its strength while reducing overall weight.

Thus improving the overall cooling capacity while reducing even more weight.