Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO ready to compete for victory in the Dakar 2019 rally

Tuesday 8th January 2019

Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO takes on this year’s competition with its strongest line-up ever, with team leaders Gerard De Rooy, two-time winner of the Dakar Rally and winner of the Africa Eco Race 2018, and Federico Villagra, who is competing with the team for the first time; Ton van Genugten, winner of four stages and the most successful driver of the Dakar 2018; and experienced driver Maurik van den Heuvel, also new to the team, who finished last year’s race in the Top 10.

The 41st running of the world’s most extreme rally, the Dakar, will set off from Lima for the first of 10 tough stages that will cover 5,000 km, all on Peruvian soil, following a new loop which starts and finishes in the country’s capital, Lima. The race will present a particularly tough challenge for the drivers with around 70% of the route being on sandy soil.

The 2018 Dakar, which had the first five stages in this country, highlighted the extreme difficulty of the Peruvian deserts which put the participants’ navigation and driving skills to the test with its big sandy dunes.

Following his victory at the Africa Eco Race 2018, Gerard De Rooy returns to the Dakar rally and is joined for the first time by Federico Villagra to lead the strongest PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO team ever in their quest for the title.

For the ninth consecutive year, IVECO is the official supplier of Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO and will provide them with vehicles, engines and spare parts. The team will compete on four IVECO Powerstars featuring IVECO Cursor 13 engines with up to 1,000 hp of power specially engineered by FPT Industrial – CNH Industrial’s powertrain brand.

The PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO team

Gerard De Rooy, Dakar winner in 2012 and 2016, will aim for a repeat victory behind the wheel of the fixed-axle IVECO Powerstar Evo 3 that took him to victory in the Africa Eco Race 2018 with co-driver Moi Torrallardona and mechanic Darek Rodewald.

Federico Villagra, who fought for victory until the very last stages at Dakar 2018, will aim for the podium behind the wheel of the second lead IVECO Powerstar Evo 3 with co-pilot Ricardo Torlaschi and mechanic Adrián Yacopini.

Ton van Genugten, winner of four stages and the most successful driver of the Dakar 2018, will be behind the wheel of the third Powerstar Evo 2 with co-driver Bernard Der Kinderen and mechanic Peter Willemsen.

Maurik van den Heuvel, a newcomer to Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO who has consistently finished in the Top 10 in previous races including last year’s Dakar, will drive the fourth Powerstar Evo 2 to provide fast assistance in the race with navigator Peter Kuijpers and mechanic Martijn van Rooij.

#503 Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO: Gerard de Rooy (NED), Darek Rodewald (POL), Moi Torrallardona (SPA)

#505 Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO: Federico Villagra (ARG), Adrián Yacopini (ARG), Ricardo Torlaschi (ARG)

#509 Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO: Ton van Genugten (NED), Bernard der Kinderen (NED), Peter Willemsen (BEL)

#513 Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO: Maurik Van Den Heuvel (NED), Martin Van Rooij (NED), Peter Kuijpers (NED)