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Iveco and FPT Industrial protagonists at the Dakar 2012
Wednesday 16th November 2011
Pursuing their natural vocation for adventure, Iveco and FPT Industrial will take part in the Dakar 2012, the world’s premier rally which sets off on 1st January from Mar della Plata in Argentina and ends in Lima, Peru, on 15th January.
Iveco and FPT Industrial will supply vehicles, spare parts and engines to Dutch team De Rooy.
Team “Petronas De Rooy Iveco” have actually already debuted at the Morocco Rally in October. The Iveco vehicles were driven by Miki Biasion and Gerard De Rooy and, despite the fact it was largely a preparatory exercise, they achieved excellent results, placing themselves first and second in the “special truck” category and fifth and sixth overall.
A very encouraging start in preparation for the far tougher challenge of the Dakar rally, which every year attracts the attention of millions of rally enthusiasts as well as that of the world media.
The Dutch team will compete in Dakar 2012 with four Iveco Trakker 4x4s, featuring FPT Industrial Cursor 13 engines generating over 900 hp, specially equipped for rallying, and with a Strator prototype made in Holland, featuring an Iveco chassis and driveline and a cab based on the Powerstar, produced and sold by Iveco in Australia. Three of the rally trucks will be driven by Miki Biasion (winner of Dakar in 1999, with a first place in the truck category and fifth overall), Gerard de Rooy and Hans Stacey (winner of Dakar 2007).
Another four Trakkers, tasked with providing vehicle support and assistance during the competition, will complete the line-up of team Petronas De Rooy Iveco at the forthcoming Dakar event.
The Trakker, considered “best in class” for its everyday use but also for far tougher challenges, is designed to work in all climatic conditions and on all types of terrain, from dirt roads to extreme off-road conditions, with the utmost comfort, safety and productivity. The forthcoming race will provide Iveco with an invaluable opportunity to verify the behaviour of its product in action: every single vehicle will be put through its paces in extreme situations, making this the perfect chance to carry out interesting, important assessments on reliability and performance. Iveco vehicles have already proven their worth in tough tests in the past, for example in the Overland 2010 expedition in which a Trakker 6×6 and a Daily 4×4, taking the place of the classic American cabs used in previous editions, completed one of the toughest, most gruelling expeditions of recent times.
FPT Industrial confirms its vocation for sport competitions in the rally sector as well, after many great achievements in the field of nautical competitions, with the supply of its C13 engines. In fact, the speed record was recently obtained by the Kerakoll hull, powered by two 9-litre C90-650 engines, on the Montecarlo – Venice route. This result was achieved consuming half the quantity of fuel than the previous record set in 1994. This demonstrates the exceptional services provided by FPT Industrial engines; concern for the environment; reduction of fuel consumption and operating costs, all of which are behind engine production.
Dakar is part of a broader communication strategy embraced by the company which, in line with its strong international identity and on-going pursuit of initiatives capable of conveying its vitality and energy, looks increasingly to the world of sport. This, together with other company initiatives in the sporting arena, such as the partnership with the All Blacks, recently crowned rugby World Champions; its collaboration initiated in 2009 with MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycling championship, of which Iveco is “Trucks & Commercial Vehicles Supplier” and its role as Official Supplier to the Ferrari racing team, confirms Iveco’s determination to link its name to leading names in the world of international sport.