“Bigger is better so I prefer the truck!”

Self-described ‘underdogs’, the DDW RALLYTEAM return ready to take on the dunes with an extra 300 horsepower in their home-grown IVECO Torpedo. Alongside mechanic duties, Marijn Beekmans will also be acting as ‘referee’ for partners Egbert Wingens (driver) and Marije Van Ettekoven (co-driver).

E.W.: “This is my fifth Dakar. I started in a car but for me bigger is better so I prefer the truck! I drove in Argentina and Chile but really enjoyed last year’s event in Saudi Arabia. It was so technical. We finished 17th but I saw the main difference to the others was in the loose sand, where we just didn’t have the power. So we chose a Caterpillar engine for this year with 1000 Nm more torque. I can’t wait to see how it performs.”

M.V.E.: “I met Egbert when he was looking for a new team member and someone suggested him, ‘call Marije. She’s done a rally on a bike, is good at communication and not scared to break a nail or have a bit of sand in her underwear!’
“Then during the Morocco Rally in 2016, Egbert told me, ‘get the road book, you're sitting next to me tomorrow!’ I had not seen a road book for eight years and suddenly I was navigating the dunes, but the potential was there.
“When Egbert started his own team in 2015 Marijn joined as mechanic. He's such a good guy and also our referee! We have this inside joke that Marijn is sometimes like a marriage counsellor, blowing a whistle and saying, ‘that’s enough guys!’
“We are one of the smaller privateer teams and have built our own truck. It's a bit of everything. Our cooling system comes from a big crane and so on. This really is who we are. We are trying to do our own thing.
“The team participated in the Dakar for the first time last year and nobody expected we would be 17th overall. This year we have a new engine and 300 more horsepower. We never say ‘we are aiming for the top 10’ or anything, we prefer to just be the underdog and see what will happen. But we didn’t buy a new engine to be at the back of the field...”