N° 500 - TEAM MAN RACE TEAM
- STACEY
- Hans
- NLD
- 09/03/1958
|
- GOTLIB
- Charly
- BEL
- 29/08/1959
|
 - DER KINDEREN
- Bernard
- NLD
- 25/11/1960
|
| MODEL |
MAKE |
| TGS 18.480 |
MAN |
 |
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
|
| Scratch |
32
|
10
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
| Stage |
32
|
10
|
5
|
13
|
8
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
| Overall |
32
|
17
|
10
|
10
|
8
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Charly Gotlib: “For Hans, second spot doesn’t exist”
After his victory what better and stronger feat can he go for? The question doesn’t even come to mind for Dutchman Hans Stacey who won the Dakar for the first time of his career last year after a beautifully mastered race including a series of four straight stage successes. As his co-driver Charly Gotlib says so well, "for Hans, second place doesn’t exist!"
"Last year’s victory is the greatest accomplishment of my career", explains with pride the Dutch trucker. "It was the result of three years of hard work". It was also the reward for his desire of independence. Indeed since his first years as a rally car driver (he was a 6-time Dutch champion), Hans has always enjoyed working "with some kind of freedom". That’s exactly what he found in the Man team after having started at DAF working for Jan de Rooy.
As the editions went by in a class easily dominated by Russian Vladimir Chagin, Hans Stacey and his team started getting stronger and more consistent and that took them to second spot in 2006. Then came 2007.
To defend his title, Hans shows up with a team at its very best. Winners of the Transorrientale, of the Dakar Series in Central Europe, the situation of the title holder is simple. “We are as motivated as ever’’, sums up Charly Gotlib. The driver is not as enthusiastic: “The truth is that we have the best structure we have ever had. But on the Dakar there are no guarantees. The only thing we can do is to prepare in the best possible way, especially because this year, the race promises to be very difficult with several teams doing well”. Hans, who suffered a broken left arm in November, perfectly knows that the margin between glory and a counter-performance is slim, but with his experienced co-driver Charly Gotlib and his faithful mechanic Bernard Der Kinderen, he’s ready to take on his destiny.
Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com