N° 337 - TEAM MC RAE ENDURO SPORT
- DE GROOT
- Michel
- NLD
- 28/04/1969
- 185 cm
- 88 kg
|
- ULJEE
- Gaby
- NLD
- 10/02/1976
- 176 cm
- 60 kg
|
| MODEL |
MAKE |
| ENDURO |
MC RAE |
 |
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
| Scratch |
134
|
46
|
54
|
88
|
37
|
95
|
36
|
108
|
80
|
49
|
-
|
30
|
32
|
35
|
| Stage |
134
|
46
|
54
|
87
|
41
|
89
|
35
|
106
|
80
|
48
|
-
|
29
|
32
|
35
|
-
|
-
|
| Overall |
134
|
70
|
53
|
62
|
42
|
54
|
49
|
64
|
53
|
47
|
-
|
39
|
39
|
39
|
-
|
-
|
Michel De Groot : «First finish, then finish first»
Michel De Groot is a versatile driver. After finishing the Dakar twice on a motorcycle (in 2006 and 2007), the Dutchman will try this year to do the same, but in a car. “I don’t really have a preference between the two. I just had to wait a little longer to do it in a car because it requires a larger budget.”
For his first Dakar in a car, Michel will be teamed with Gaby Uljee, a fine navigator who finished the rally in 2007 with her boyfriend. Why isn’t the young lady doing it again with her man? “He prefers to do the Dakar with his twin brother”, she says with a laugh. She wants to eventually move over to the driver’s seat on the Dakar but she will be in Buenos Aires with lots of motivation. “She is very easy to get along with inside the car,” adds Michel. “And with my two Dakars on a motorcycle I can help her with the navigation.”
The Dutch team’s first goal is to finish the rally, even though Michel shows a certain sense of humour when you ask him the question. “Our main objective is to finish, then finish first”, he says laughingly. The Dutchman knows far too well than on a rally anything can happen. On the Shamrock, Michel and is co-driver crashed off a seven metre high plateau and gave himself a real scare. “I thought I could land the same jump with a car than with a motorcycle”, says the still laughing and versatile Michel.
Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com