VAN EIKEREN Mike NLD 23/12/1963 186 cm 86 kg

HERWEIJER Bastian NLD 24/01/1968 190 cm 83 kg

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
LAND CRUISER	TOYOTA

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Scratch	70	92	89	99	82	81	53	58	58	62	-	36	59	68
Stage	70	92	89	99	82	79	49	58	57	61	-	35	59	68	-	-
Overall	70	87	88	93	77	62	56	65	51	46	-	37	38	38	-	-

Mike Van Eikeren : «Technique cost us our first Dakar»

After an appealing but too short first experience on the 2006 Dakar (retirement in Morocco), Mike Van Eikeren is back to compete, in the race of his dreams, with faithful co-driver Bastian Herweijer. And for the occasion he has created his own team. “Technique cost us our first Dakar, which we did without assistance. We missed a start due to one hour too much spent working on the car”, says Mike. The Dutchman plans to go all the way on his second Dakar. “I don’t know South America. I don’t know what this rally will have in store for us. One thing is sure, it will be hard.” Mike Van Eikeren has reason to be smiling after his most resent result. “We finished 27th on the Dakar Series. And second among the Dutch teams…” For this motorcycle enthusiast, who drives a car “to reassure (his) wife’, the rally is looking pretty good.

In the case of a problem, Mike will be able to count on the experience of the man to his right. Bastian Herweijer knows the Dakar very well. He has already participated in five, first trying his luck twice on a motorcycle then twice in a truck. He enjoys the “Dakar fever”, which, Mike his friend of 25 years, has caught. But he knows this feeling as well. “When I was a kid I watched the Dakar on television”, he remembers. I said to myself: ‘One day I am going to do it. The Dakar is a rendezvous with myself…» He too is a motorcycle enthusiast and wants to retry the adventure like when he first started, for a finish on a bike that he has yet to accomplish. That will be for later.

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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