CREW FACTS

S.D.

• As a kid, Sander used to sit in front of his parents TV and watch the Dakar during Jan de Rooy years in the late 80's. Although he played football, handball and did some motorcross, he got infected somewhere there...

• Later, he joined the Army and after a few years working in the industry of central heating installation, he founded his own company. He only started racing at the age of 30, after being invited by a friend for an autocross competition at a local level. This passion quickly grew, eventually reaching European podium level. Since 2008, he has combined this with rallycross (his favourite).

• In 2017, he switched to CrossCountry. He drove the first two years with a navigator and alone afterwards. He really liked being alone. Always drove a CanAm Maverick. In the first few years, he developed roll cages for the CanAM and put many of them on the market with Peters Autosport and QFF Racing. Later on, he focused more on rally-service and navigation for customers. The last years were spent as a water carrier.

• His wife and children allow him to practice his hobby. His children have probably more than half of their genes from their mother and the chance of them following Sander footsteps are... nil. That's not a problem for him, he likes spending some time with his family, go skiing or have a nice holiday all together.

• Sander broke his wishbone on day 4 during Tuareg Rally in 2023, his first dune start on a motorbike. 2025 is his second Dakar. He finished 21st in 2024 as a watercarrier in a T4 South CanAm.

• Has chosen a less experienced navigator, which is an extra challenge for him. But he enjoyed training him. They have been working hard in the last months. Marnix (19 years old and probably one of the youngest participants) is ​​very enthusiastic. Both were in Portugal mid-december for the last tests on the Can-Am.

M.L.

• When Marnix was six years old, he drove a car for the first time in his father's property. Marc, Marnix's dad, competed in his first Dakar Rally in 2007 driving a truck and obviously passed on his passion to his son. At just 18 years old, Marnix and his father competed together in the Hungarian Baja, their first ever rally

• Afterwards, the duo created a three-year plan: during the first year, Marnix had to participate in the Breslau Rally and the Hungarian Baja, both driving a buggy; the second year was planned to include a rally in Morocco and his first Hungarian Baja with a truck... But both plans have changed: Marnix has been invited to navigate in a buggy in 2025, an excellent opportunity that aligns perfectly with his goal of eventually competing in the Dakar. The third year would be making the Dakar, this time in a truck.

• The "young" Leeuw is now ready for his first Dakar. Marnix is eager to make his first kilometres in Saudi Arabia. His role models are Dutch Mitchel van den Brink and Czech Martin Macik, both truck pilots.