Irish Motor Sports News – IVECO teams have eye on podium finishes in Africa Eco Race & Dakar Rally

IVECO teams have eye on podium finishes in Africa Eco Race & Dakar Rally

Jan 12, 2018

After eight stages of the 10th Africa Eco Race, Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO pilot Gerard De Rooy and his crew still have their sights on the podium after securing fourth spot in the overall standings. It marks the eighth consecutive year IVECO has been the official supplier of Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO, providing them with vehicles, engines and spare parts.

De Rooy, on board his IVECO Powerstar with co-pilot Moi Torrallardona and mechanic Darek Rodewald, enjoyed a strong start in the opening stage finishing third overall behind early leader, Russian Vladimir Vasilyev.

Wolf Van Ginkel finished stage one in sixth position in the second IVECO Powerstar with co-pilot Erik Kofman and mechanic Bert van Donkelaar.

Stage two proved difficult for both crews, but De Rooy enjoyed a more successful day three finishing top of the trucks in 5th and gaining two places overall. Van Ginkel had to abandon the stage due to engine trouble.

In the longest leg of the race, stage four, De Rooy managed the fifth fastest time, completing the 497 km route 35 minutes behind Vasilyev. The gap would have been smaller but for a navigation error.

Mixed emotions again on stage five with De Rooy finishing fourth, however Van Ginkel failed to finish due to technical issues – ending his participation in the event.

In stages six and seven, De Rooy’s position remained consistent – however a strong run in the dunes of stage eight saw the Dutchman climb up to fourth overall behind new leader Mathieu Serradori.

In the Dakar Rally, IVECO driver Federico Villagra – competing for the YPF Infinia Diesel Team De Rooy – has held onto second place after the opening four stages.

Tom Van Genugten, of Team PETRONAS De Rooy IVECO made the best start of the three IVECO Powerstars, finishing in the top five on the opening two stages. However, he has fallen back to 11th position overall following a series of incidents including an accident.

Teammate Artur Ardavichus endured a difficult start to the race. However, in stage 4 he got off to a flying start moving from 12th to 5th until the last waypoint where he lost more than an hour, closing in 11th place.

Each of the IVECO Powerstar vehicles being used to compete are equipped with Cursor 13 engines with up to 1,000 hp of power. They have been specially engineered by FPT Industrial, CNH Industrial’s powertrain brand.

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