Two IVECOS among the top 10 trucks in Stage 5 of Dakar Rally 2020

Friday 10th January 2020

After a very sandy fifth stage in the Dakar Rally 2020, PETRONAS Team De Rooy IVECO proved once again its strength to overcome the most difficult terrain in Saudi Arabia. Three hundred and fifty-three timed kilometres were necessary to link Al Ula and Ha’il, where most of the competitors arrived after a tough day at the wheel.

Although Vick Versteijnen retired from the competition after stage four, with the new ‘Dakar Experience’ rule, the Dutchman was allowed to race in the rest of the competition, only posting times for the stage classification, but without participating anymore in the overall standings.

This saw Versteijnen change his luck for the special and put his #522 Powerstar in sixth position. He concluded a great day that went from low to high, as the 18th position in the first waypoint shows, climbing to 13th, 9th and 7th in the following checkpoints before getting the final 6th place.

Janus van Kasteren continues to be the best PETRONAS Team De Rooy IVECO in the general standings. The crew from the #505 Powerstar made it into the Top 10 on Thursday, losing 45 minutes 30 seconds to stage winner Dmitry Sotnikov, as a consequence of stopping three times, including once for suspension issues.

He advanced to 6th place overall after trouble for the Kamaz of Eduard Nikolaev, and is a little more than 20 minutes behind Martin Macik (also in an IVECO) in the Top 5.

Albert Llovera, from Andorra, keeps on going with his consistent run in Dakar 2020, looking for his best overall position. In yesterday’s fifth stage, the #517 finished in 15th position, less than an hour behind the winners. Llovera is now 14th, 3h 51m 15s adrift.

Michiel Becx reached the end of the stage in Ha’il in 20th place and is now 18th in the general standings with a penalty of 40 minutes. More than eight hours separates his crew from the lead, as it continues to assist flawlessly to the whole PETRONAS Team De Rooy IVECO.

In stage six, the Dakar caravan will leave the city of Ha’il towards Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh. With more than eight million inhabitants, it is the perfect spot for the rest day, but before that crews will battle through 478 timed kilometres of pure sand and dunes at more than 500 meters above sea level.

STAGE 5 RESULTS

1. Dmitry Sotnikov (Kamaz) 4h 12m 04s
2. Anton Shibalov (Kamaz) + 3m 06s
3. Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) + 3m 15s
4. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) + 16m 30s
5. Ales Loprais (Praga) + 23m 38s

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6. VICK VERSTEIJNEN (IVECO) + 34m 15s
7. JANUS VAN KASTEREN (IVECO) + 45m 30s
8. ALBERT LLOVERA (IVECO) + 57m 11s
9. MICHIEL BECX (IVECO) + 1h 32m 33s

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) 20h 10m 02s
2. Anton Shibalov (Kamaz) + 14m 53s
3. Siarhei Viazovich (Maz) + 23m 58s
4. Ales Loprais (Praga) + 1h 29m 18s
5. Martin Macik (IVECO) + 1h 38m 30s