N° 463 - TEAM 4X4 OFF ROAD CLUB
 - TIJSTERMAN
- Cornelis
- NLD
- 01/05/1953
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- STEENHUISEN
- Eric
- NLD
- 09/11/1960
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| MODEL |
MAKE |
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DESERT WARRIOR |
Cornelis Tijsterman is returning to the Dakar like a love he never forgot. 2009 marks the return of the Dutchman after a 13 year break. At the age of 56, alongside his friend Jean-Pierre Jacobs, the driver known as ‘Kees’ eagerly imagines his return to the race of his heart.
For the Dutch mechanic, life changed in 1985: “I did my first Dakar nearly by accident with my wife. And we finished 12th overall and 1st among the diesels”. His vocation as a mechanic was also born in the desert. Today, Cornelis is the owner of a garage that specialises in 4X4 preparation. “Back then we had to do everything in the race ourselves! We learned so much in terms of repairs.”
For his compatriot and co-driver Jean-Pierre Jacobs, the relation with the Dakar is more recent. But just as passionate. The Chemist tried the January adventure on two occasions, in 2006 and 2007 with his brother Raoul. While the first year was fantastic (the brothers finished “second Dutch crew and first diesel amateurs’’), the second was slightly more painful. They broke down when their engine turbo exploded between Er Rachida and Ouarzazate, and they couldn’t get it running in time to meet the mandatory arrival deadline. This year, the new crew has focused on preparing before the race, in order to work on their Desert Warrior “especially for the tracks of Argentina and Chile”. But Kees Jean-Pierre know it just too well: on a Dakar the technical side isn’t enough. Therefore to fulfil their humble objective, “to reach the finish”, the crew will count on two fundamental qualities: will and patience. “That’s the secret of the Dakar: to remember that the race is long. If you go too quickly, in just a short moment, everything can collapse to pieces”.
