Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO will compete in the 42nd edition of the Dakar Rally with three IVECO Powerstar trucks, which will be driven by Janus van Kasteren jr, Vick Versteijnen and Albert Llovera, and an IVECO Trakker with Michiel Becx behind the wheel. Gerard de Rooy will not participate in this year’s race due to recurring back problems, but will be in Saudi Arabia to support the team

Petronas Team De Rooy IVECO will tackle the extreme terrains of the race on board three IVECO Powerstar and one Trakker. For the ninth consecutive year, IVECO be the official supplier of the team and provide them with vehicles, engines and spare parts. All the Iveco trucks feature IVECO Cursor 13 engines with up to 1000 hp of power specially engineered by FPT Industrial – CNH Industrial’s powertrain brand.

For the 42nd edition, the Dakar rally race leaves the South American continent and moves to the Middle East, where it will be run in the grandiose and varied landscapes of Saudi Arabia. 7500 Km total route of rally which 5000 of special stages. The route will put all the pilots’ driving and navigation skills to the test, where desert is king with 75% of.

Janus van Kasteren jr is an off-road driver, and will be competing in the Dakar rally for the third time behind the wheel of an IVECO Powerstar Evo 3 (vehicle #505) with mechanic Frank van Hoof and navigator Erwin van den Bosch. He will aim to capitalise on the experience he gained in particular in the previous editions, where he achieved several finishes in the top 10.

Albert Llovera, a former Olympic skier, has been competing in rallies by cars in spite of becoming paralyzed from the waist down. He debuted in the Dakar rally in 2014 and has participated at four editions of the race since then. He will be competing behind the wheel of the second IVECO Powerstar Evo 3 (#517), which has been adapted for him. Also on board will be mechanic Ramon Peters and navigator Ferran Marc Alcayna.

Vick Versteijnen has gained experience from 2 years driving trucks in the Dakar rally, having made his debut in this race in 2015, when he surprised observers by reaching the finish line in spite of severe setbacks on his vehicle. He has also participated in the Morocco Desert Challenge in 2018 and 2019. He will be competing on an IVECO Powerstar Evo 2 (#522) with mechanic Andreas van den Sande and navigator Marius van del Teun.

Michiel Becx is the first time in Dakar Rally with a truck and will be providing fast assistance to the team and carry extra parts on the IVECO Trakker (#531) with the most experienced mechanic of Team Bernard den Kinderen and navigator Edwin Kuijipers.