Iveco and FPT Industrial will take part in the 2014 edition of the Dakar rally, the sixth edition on the South American continent. Entitled "the Odyssey", this rally will be one of the longest and most challenging in recent years. The race will cross through three countries: Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. It will begin on 5 January from Rosario in Argentina and end on 18 January in Valparaiso, Chile.
As in the previous editions, Iveco and FPT Industrial are once again official sponsors of the Iveco De Rooy Petronas team from the Netherlands, providing vehicles and engines to the team. Dakar 2014 marks the fourth year Iveco and FPT Industrial have partnered with Team De Rooy, first making their début together at the 2011 Morocco Rally.
The team is composed of: Gerard de Rooy, Dutch driver, team leader and winner of the 2012 Dakar, once again on board the Iveco Powerstar; Dutch driver Hans Stacey with an Iveco Trakker Evolution 3; Spanish driver Pep Vila and French driver Jo Adua, who has already taken part in the Dakar eight times, with a Trakker Evolution 2.
The Iveco Trakker is a quarry-site vehicle from the off-road heavy range, able to operate on impervious and rough terrains, just like the ones that the Dakar drivers will have to tackle in South America. The vehicle provides robustness and reliability combined with the power of the FPT Industrial Cursor engines.
Robustness is precisely the main strength of this vehicle: each single component, starting from the high yield limit steel frame, guarantees long lasting performance. The new Trakker also features ergonomic and high performance ZF gearboxes. These include the manual 9-speed and 16-speed Ecosplit versions, equipped with a servo-shift system, and the automatic Eurotronic 12- and 16-speed models, with a gear selector built into the steering column stalk, which improves driving comfort.
The Iveco Trakker is produced at the company’s manufacturing facility in Madrid, where the Stralis, a heavy range on-road vehicle, is also manufactured. The Stralis Hi-Way model was awarded with the prestigious recognition of “International Truck of the Year 2013”.
The vehicles taking part in the 2014 Dakar rally are equipped with FPT Industrial Cursor 13 engines, 13 liter displacement units able to deliver a power of 900 Hp and a maximum torque of 3,800 Nm at 1,100 rpm. Thanks to on-going research and development activities, the Cursor 13 engine, with a six cylinder in-line architecture features the most advanced technologies, such as a second generation HD Common Rail injection system, providing pressures up to 2,200 bar. The engine is also characterized by high power, fast load response, maximum robustness and reliability.
As always, the Dakar represents an important opportunity for Iveco and FPT Industrial to test the performance and reliability of their vehicles and engines in extraordinary and extremely difficult conditions.
A novelty of this edition will be the greater variation of routes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads, in the name of greater safety for both drivers and spectators. Approximately 60 per cent of the route will be common for all vehicle types: cars and trucks will in fact skip the stage in Bolivia, but will perform a circuit with departure and arrival in Salta, following a rest day.
