Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO maintains its fast pace in the second stage of the Dakar 2019, which finished in San Jaun de Marcona, with Gerard de Rooy finishing in second place followed by Villagra and Van Genugten in 4th and 5th. Tuesday’s special was the first big test of the Dakar Rally 2019 with 342 timed kilometers, where Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO proved its strength by placing three trucks in the Top 5, as it aims for the top positions in the competition. Dutchman Gerard de Rooy showed his driving and navigation skills with a very important second place, which puts him second in the overall classification. The heat, sand and dunes were the key factors of the day, and the route surprised many competitors with the long straights at high top speeds. Truck #505 finished fourth today, with the Argentine crew led by Federico Villagra 6m30s behind Eduard Nikolaev, who won the stage for the second consecutive day. Villagra keeps his podium place overall, just behind his teammate Gerard de Rooy. Ton Van Genugten, who finished second yesterday, closed this stage in fifth position, climbing the overall classification to the same position. In his best Dakar rally race, the Dutch driver finished fifth, and this year he has a good chance of equalling and improving this performance on his IVECO Powerstar #509. Behind the wheel of his Powerstar #513, Maurik Van Den Heuvel placed the fourth IVECO truck in the Top 10, with a good 8th place 20 minutes behind the leader. The third stage will link the cities of San Juan de Marcona and Arequipa. It will be the last special before the marathon stage, which will see the vehicles competing for two days without assistance from the teams.
