Markku Alen and his EUROCARGO 140E24WSSEVENTH overal in Dakar!
The sixteenth and final leg of the Dakar 2005 rally covered a total of 68 km, including a 31-km special trial, but even these few kilometres were not without surprises. Following the dramatic withdrawal of second-placed Dutch driver, Bekx (Daf), Markku Alén finished in 7th place overall in his Iveco Eurocargo 4x4l,a respectable 11h26’ behind the leader, Kabirov (Kamaz), in a gruelling event which saw many trucks fail to finish. For the record, the last leg was won by Tchagin (Kamaz), while only 35 of the original 69 trucks entered made it to the chequered flag in Dakar – with the last, a full 65 hours behind the winner!The two previous legs.The fourteenth leg, from Kayes to Tambacounda, covered a total of 630 km, including a 529-km special trial, which took the teams from Mali to Senegal and also saw Markku Alén and his Eurocargo 140E24WS achieve their best result to date: 6th place, which left him firmly in 8th place in the overall standings at that stage.The penultimate leg, number fifteen from Tambacounda to Dakar was fought over 569 km, and included a special 225 km trial. With the end finally in sight, teams battled to consolidate their positions, with the drivers’ main aim being to nurse the vehicles home safely after their 10,000 kilometre adventure through the desert. Iveco-driver Markku Alén finished 16th and so confirmed his 8th place in the overall standings, with one leg to go, 11h23’ behind the leader, Kabirov, in his powerful Kamaz.