“Our ambition is to prove we are the best”
CREW FACTS
A.L.
- Ales Loprais is one of the most talented and experienced drivers in the Dakar trucks class. His uncle Karel Loprais (1949-2021) was a pioneer for the Czech Republic at the world's toughest rally, winning six trucks titles between 1988 and 2001.
- Ales made his Dakar debut in 2006 as a navigator for Karel, joining the Loprais Tatra team set up by his father Milan. He switched to the driver's seat in 2007, impressing with a podium finish (3rd).
- In 18 Dakar appearances, the 44-year-old has had nine top-10 finishes. He claimed his best result to date at Dakar 2024, 2nd behind compatriot Martin Macik, although he admits he's had more of an opportunity to shine in recent years in the absence of Kamaz-Master and Maz.
- For Dakar 2025, Ales has joined up with the De Rooy team, for whom he already competed in 2016. He will be driving an upgraded Iveco Powerstar with an Iveco Cursor FPT engine. He is joined by his friend David Kripal, who is making his trucks debut, and hugely experienced mechanic Darek Rodewald.
- Ales is one of three drivers representing De Rooy at Dakar 2025, along with Vaidotas Zala (who switches from the Ultimates) and Anja van Loon (who was 13th on her trucks debut last year).
D.K.
- David Kripal is a talented co-driver who has been competing in the cars since Dakar 2018, mainly alongside Tomas Ourednicek. Their best result together was 17th in 2019.
- He and Tomas won the Morocco Desert Challenge together in 2017. They have also had success at bajas in Poland and Hungary.
- The 42-year-old had a real adventure on Dakar 2023, when he was only supposed to be working as a photographer for Overdrive. Instead, he was thrown into a South Racing SSV at the last minute as a co-driver for Frenchman Antoine Galland, and they quickly discovered they had no common language. Despite all manner of hiccups, they made it to the finish line in Dammam (although officially DNF).
- This is David's first competitive outing in a truck.
D.R.
- Darek Rodewald is one of the best onboard mechanics in the business and has already won the Dakar 3 times with the De Rooy team. He tasted truck success with team boss Gerard de Rooy in 2012 and 2016, and more recently with Janus van Kasteren in 2023.
- The 41-year-old Pole is based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands and has described the Dakar as an 'incurable disease'.
- He was supposed to do his first Dakar with Gerard's father Jan de Rooy in 2008, but the rally was cancelled. The following year he helped Jan win the Africa Eco Race (which he also conquered with Gerard in 2018), and in 2010 he finally made his Dakar debut with Jo Adua.
- In 13 Dakar appearances, Darek has had nine top-5s, six podiums and three wins. He has successfully reached the finish line in every edition he has done since 2012.
2025 AMBITIONS
A.L.: “As usual, every Dakar brings big changes! I was already part of the De Rooy team in 2016 and I believe we have a good chance. I want to use my knowledge and the skills I developed in my private team to work together with the Dutch service crew. We have three trucks in the team, so we'll see what we can do to be on top. I hope we can help each other out. We are joining a Dutch team and I know some of the Dutch guys have been buying Czech trucks. It's quite funny. In the end we are all one nation! David is a friend of mine, a good navigator, he's been competing in the cars with Toyota Gazoo Racing. It will be the first time for him in the truck but that's not a big issue. Darek originally didn't want to continue but he changed his mind and we decided to go for it. The Iveco is very different to the Praga because it has a totally different suspension concept. At De Rooy we have rigid axle suspension, whereas on the Praga it was independent. Some days one is better, some days the other is better; it's about finding the right compromise. We wanted to do the Rallye du Maroc but we had some cooling issues and decided not to go. I believe the problem is solved now. Dakar 2024 was a nice rally and we got a good result. But we had technical trouble before the 48-hour Chrono stage and lost more than 40 minutes, which meant we gave away the virtual lead. That's happened consistently over the past five years, giving my lead to someone else, but it's all part of the game. Hopefully 2025 we will be kinder to us and we can achieve the result we want. Our ambition is to prove we are the best.”
D.K.: “After eight years in T1+ it was time for a change. I ended my cooperation with Tomas, then Ales called me two or three weeks later: I didn't need time to think about it. The truck category is the most popular in the Czech Republic, since the days of Karel Loprais and all the old legends. I haven't raced in the truck. I've done maybe 1,000 kilometres in testing, but that's nothing. The advantage is that there are three people in the truck, so three heads for navigation. In the car I was always having to think about everything, the navigation, technical aspects, the computer, tyre pressure. Now I have a mechanic in Darek, who has so much experience. He's a great choice for us. Ales and I have never been in the truck together, so we need to synchronise and figure out our communication. But he is Czech and Darek is Polish, the language is very similar, so it will be easier than speaking French with Antoine Galland! Teaming up with an overall favourite is probably the hardest thing for me. With Tomas it was easier because we didn't have such high ambitions, maybe the top 20. So there was a little more room for mistakes, especially with all our technical problems. But Ales is only focused on the best possible result, first place. That will make it a big challenge for me. He'll be counting every second if we go off track or if we need to change a wheel. So there will be big pressure but I hope it will be good.”
D.R.: "I think Ales is one of the best drivers at the Dakar. He has a lot of experience; he's been doing this for almost 20 years. I think we will have a chance to win this year so I'm really looking forward to it. David is also a very good navigator. Sometimes in a truck it's a bit easier to see what's coming up next, because there's a bigger view up there compared to the car! The Dakar is just like a marathon. You can never give up. You have to train very hard and always be prepared for anything. The game is only over after the finish podium. We're only going for the #1 spot, and for sure we have a big chance because we have a great team.&r
