The 2013 edition of the Dakar set off Saturday 5 January from Lima, Peru. Considered the most famous truck rally in the world, garnering millions of followers each year, the Dakar sees vehicles from the most important European and Asian manufacturers challenge one another through intense, off-road conditions. The race spans 15 days, crossing Peru, Argentina and Chile.
Iveco and FPT Industrial are sponsoring Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco from the Netherlands for the Dakar 2013.
Renewing a partnership that led to major successes in the 2012 edition, Iveco and FPT Industrial have supplied Team De Rooy with vehicles, engines and spare parts.
Dakar 2013 marks the third year Iveco and FPT Industrial have partnered with Team De Rooy, first making their début together at the 2011 Morocco Rally. They cooperated once again this past October at the 2012 Morocco Rally where team drivers Gerard de Rooy and Miki Biasion respectively placed first and second in the special truck category.
The vehicles
The Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco will compete at Dakar 2013 with two 4x4 Iveco New Trakkers (Evolution 3) produced in Spain, two 4x4 Iveco Trakkers (Evolution 2) and one Iveco Powerstar, a vehicle produced and sold by Iveco in Australia. All the vehicles are equipped with FPT Industrial’s Cursor 13 engines, which generate up to 840 horsepower. The vehicles are also equipped with three rally seats with 6-point safety belts and a roll-over protection bar. The New Trakker model is an off-road, quarry site vehicle featuring a completely renewed cab. The new cab is designed to improve on board driver comfort with elements that are recognised as essential for vehicle safety and productivity.
The vehicle is capable of operating on challenging, off-road terrains such as those the drivers are facing in South America. The vehicle’s FPT Industrial Cursor engines ensure high power and resistance. Its main characteristic is its strength: each individual component, starting from the high yield limit steel frame, guarantees long lasting performance.
The New Trakker also features ergonomic and high performance ZF gearboxes which range from the manual 9-speed and 16-speed Ecosplit gearboxes, equipped with a servo-shift system to the automatic Eurotronic 12-speed and 16-speed gearboxes with a gear selector built into the steering column stalk which improves driving comfort.
The Dakar 2013 edition provides Iveco with a further opportunity to deploy and examine the performance and reliability of its products in extraordinary circumstances as each vehicle is put through its paces in extreme action.
The drivers
The first vehicle, an Iveco Powerstar, sleeper cab version, is being driven by 32-year-old team leader Gerard de Rooy, winner of the Dakar 2012. The second vehicle, an Iveco New Trakker Evolution 3 day cab version, is driven by Dutch rally driver Hans Stacey.
The third vehicle, an Iveco Trakker Evolution 2 day cab version, is driven by Italian driver Miki Biasion, a Dakar veteran who has previously competed three times in the race car category and four times in the truck category.
The fourth vehicle, an Iveco New Trakker Evolution 3 day cab version is driven by team-newcomer René Kuipers, a seasoned motorbike and car rally racer from the Netherlands. French driver Jo Adua, a seven-time Dakar competitor, is driving the final rally vehicle, an Iveco Trakker Evolution 2.
In addition to the rally trucks, there are seven support and assistance vehicles that complete the Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco line up: five New Trakkers (an 8x8 truck, two 6x6 trucks, a 4x4 truck and a 6x6 camper) and one Daily 4x4 truck.
The engines
All Iveco vehicles participating in the Dakar 2013 are equipped with FPT Industrial Cursor 13 engines. Thanks to continuous research and development activities, the 6 cylinder Cursor 13 adopts the most advanced technologies available, such as a second generation heavy duty Common Rail injection system that guarantees pressures up to 2200 bar. These engines are capable of providing great power, fast load response and high power density together with maximum robustness and reliability, all at low operating costs.
To guarantee this high reliability, the FPT Industrial engines go through several thousand hours of rigorous testing before entering the market and are also tested in extremely challenging sports competitions such as the Dakar.
The Dakar 2013 route
The fifth South American-hosted edition of the Dakar runs from 5 to 20 January, crossing over the continent’s west coast, spanning Peru, Argentina and Chile. The opening ceremony picked up where the last Dakar left off, taking place in the Peruvian capital of Lima, the same setting of the Dakar 2012 closing ceremonies.
The start in Peru marked the first time in Dakar history that the competition began in the middle of the desert, with the first few stages taking place there. The other stages have taken competitors across the Andes into Argentina where they are facing a wide range of diverse terrains. There will be a rest day on 13 January in the town of San Miguel de Tucumán before the race resumes for its final four stages through Chile and the dunes of the Atacama Desert. The Dakar finale will be staged in Santiago, capital and home to one-third of Chile’s population. By the end of race, the competitors will have driven a distance of over 8,000 kilometres.
Cooperation with PETRONAS Lubricants
Iveco’s historic partner PETRONAS Lubricants are once again providing support in this adventure as it did with the test race at the 2011 Morocco Rally. Acting as a title sponsor, PETRONAS Lubricants will supply lubricants and functional fluids for rally and service vehicles, thereby becoming the first technical partner to Team Petronas De Rooy Iveco.
Iveco and its commitment to sports
Iveco’s participation in the Dakar fits in with a series of important collaborations in the world of sport. Iveco sponsors events of the Dakar calibre not only to support its international presence, but also for the valuable opportunity of following its products in action as they perform in extreme situations.
Other Iveco sports initiatives include: the cooperation, established in 2009, with MotoGP, the most important international motorbike championship where Iveco serves as “Trucks & Commercial Vehicles Supplier” and also sponsors the Yamaha Factory Racing Team, of which the current MotoGP world champion, Jorge Lorenzo is a member.
All the latest news on dakar.iveco.com
The website dakar.iveco.com will be updated on a daily basis with race results and performance stats for Team Iveco. Photos and video sent from South America will also be posted.
The design of the website is divided into two sections. This idea reflects the two sides of an Iveco Trakker, a heavy vehicle that is ideal for both daily transport jobs as well as extreme off-road situations such as the Dakar. The first section of the website profiles the New Trakker by showcasing its technical characteristics and strong points. The second section of the website is dedicated to the Dakar with live updates from the competition. All of the stages of the race are also listed along with a dedicated Team area featuring biographies for the five competing pilots.
