“Finish the race while being in the first 25 within the Ultimate”
CREW FACTS
M.W.
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As a kid, Maik has always loved sports. He used to compete in running and speed skating, a very famous sport in the Netherlands. There's a 200 km speed skating race each year in the country!
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Maik has 10 Dakar rallyes behind him, all with the experienced biker and copilot Robert Van Pelt sitting on his right side. His last one was in 2024
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When he started working in his professional life, Maik bought companies not performing in order to restructure them. That was his business. Afterwards, he started the hotel business in 1995 and extended it on and on. Nowadays, Maik owns 34 hotels in the Netherlands.
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His Dakar idols are Carlos Sainz and, obviously, as a dutch man, Jan de Rooy.
M.S.
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Marcel is a very experienced pilot and copiot. 2025 is his 18th Dakar. He is the 2023 Dakar-rally winner (trucks) & FIA world-champion. He is the first ever Dutch man navigator to win the Dakar. It was in the trucks Category with Dutch pilot Janus van Kasteren and Polish mechanic Darek Rodewald on an Iveco Powerstar. The trio finished with more than one hour quicker than the second truck.
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He considers himself as a navigator even though in the car nowadays they have to do it themselves. In the truck assistance, they have Darek as a super mechanic.
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Marcel played football and tennis at a good level as a kid. He also started on two wheels with motocross and local rallyes. Marcel took the shop over from his father Gerard 20 years ago. He has worked 37 years in the shop. His father passed away but he saw his son finish his first two Dakar.
2025 AMBITIONS
M.W.: “Our goal is very simple: finish the race while being in the first 25 within the Ultimate category. I saw the stages, there are a few new things this year although the second week will be quite difficult with the empty quarter. The Dakar is all about challenges. It’s important to be prepared for problems. Every day is different, with David Castera always finding something new for you to master. We’ll see what they have in store for us this time!"
M.S.: “Our goal is to finish the Dakar between 20th and 30th place. 48 hours chrono stage is a good thing but they have to give enough petrol so we can finish the race. I think this year will be a heavy one with two marathon stages during the first week and the Empty Quarter during the second week."
