Gerard de Rooy scored a triumph in the Trucks category with his Iveco Powerstar in the first part of the marathon stage of the world's most difficult rally race.
On the first day of the 2016 Dakar Rally that did not present any weather-related complications, the Iveco team demonstrated its potential on Argentina's roads with a victory in Stage 4, a 419-kilometer special for Trucks in the northern part of the country.
Behind the wheel of Iveco Powerstar #501, the Dutchman Gerard de Rooy beat Pieter Versluis by 37 seconds and Hans Stacey by 1 minute and 18 seconds, taking full advantage of the last part of the special and putting the pedal to the metal in the final stretch. Another Iveco Powerstar, #514, driven by the Argentine pilot Federico Villagra, came in just 1 minute and 46 seconds behind the leader for 4th place.
Aleš Loprais and Ton van Genugten made it into the special's Top 10, taking 8th and 10th place, 5 minutes and 26 seconds and 6 minutes and 8 seconds behind de Rooy, respectively. With these placements they are still in the Top 10 in the general classification of the 2016 Dakar.
The experienced Spanish pilot Pep Vila was finally restored to 13th place in yesterday's race, as opposed to 36th place as the organization had initially announced. Coming in 12th place today, 11 minutes and 59 seconds behind the leader, Vila currently sits at 14th in the general, more than a half hour behind the front-runner.
Stage 4 – Trucks
1. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – 3:58:6
2. Versluis (NLD), MAN – plus 37 seconds
3. Stacey (NLD), MAN – plus 1 minute 18 seconds
4. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 1 minute 46 seconds
5. Nikolaev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 3 minutes 32 seconds
8. ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – plus 5 minutes 26 seconds 10. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 6 minutes 08 seconds 12. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 11 minutes 59 seconds
General Classification – Trucks
1. Versluis (NLD), MAN – 10:02:34
2. Stacey (NLD), MAN – plus 15 seconds
3. FEDERICO VILLAGRA (ARG), IVECO – plus 2 minutes 04 seconds
4. GERARD DE ROOY (NLD), IVECO – plus 4 minutes 59 seconds
5. Mardeev (RUS), Kamaz – plus 9 minutes 27 seconds
6. TON VAN GENUGTEN (NLD), IVECO – plus 13 minutes 32 seconds
8. ALEŠ LOPRAIS (CZE), IVECO – plus 15 minutes 04 seconds
14. PEP VILA (SPA), IVECO – plus 35 minutes 44 seconds
To learn more about Iveco's teams and vehicles and to follow Iveco day-by-day throughout the race, visit www.iveco.com/dakar.
