VAN DER BEEK Wouter NLD 18/09/1969 179 cm 79 kg

HOOGENDYK Jan NLD 02/02/1958 178 cm 81 kg

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
SORENTO	KIA

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Scratch	143	103	115	107	109	55	56	62	59	65	-	27	69	56
Stage	143	103	115	106	109	53	78	62	58	65	-	26	69	55	-	-
Overall	143	105	107	109	104	89	85	95	67	56	-	46	45	45	-	-

Wouter Van Der Beek: “Show what we can do”

Jan Hoogendyk never should have taken part in the Dakar. Here he is as a co-driver of Wouter Van Der Beek. “I was lucky, the wife of the previous co-driver was pregnant”, he laughs. “Therefore Wouter asked me to take his place”. There will be extra experience on board the Kia of the Dutch driver. Indeed Jan Hoogendyk has already been a co-driver on the Dakar. It was back in 2006 in a truck and the crew had finished in 30th position. “The navigation in a truck is very similar to the one in a car. I will therefore not have too many problems on that level. And my role will be to give Jan confidence”. Wouter Van Der Beek indeed has a good dose of confidence: “We have already had top battle so much to be at the start of the race”, he explains. “You mustn’t be scared. I am full of confidence”. For the driver, the real click came on the occasion of the finish of the 2007 edition he attended in Senegal, “it’s an honour to compete on the Dakar”. The salesman specialised in onions unveils his race strategy: “The idea is to make it nice and easily to the rest day and to use the fewest possible spare parts. Like that, we’ll be able to take more risks the last week”. Not too many however because his appearance on the Dakar is only the first stage of a three-year plan that should attract sponsors and help him enter a professional team: “That’s why I’m not allowed to mess up. We will have to show what we can do. We HAVE to reach the finish!”

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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