"We fully believe we can win"
Crew facts
A.L.
- Ales Loprais is one of the most talented and experienced drivers in the Dakar trucks class, and he will be making his 20th appearance at the world's toughest rally in 2026.
- His uncle Karel Loprais (1949-2021) was a Dakar pioneer for the Czech Republic, 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, immediately impressing with a podium finish (3rd).
- In 19 Dakar appearances, the 45-year-old (who turns 46 on 10 January) has had ten Top 10 finishes. He claimed his best result in 2024: second behind compatriot Martin Macik.
- At Dakar 2025, Ales linked up with the De Rooy team, for whom he had already competed in 2016. Broken leaf springs at the end of the first week ruined his hopes of victory, but he still took five stage wins and finished third overall.
- For Dakar 2026, Ales is joined by his close friend David Kripal, who made his debut as a truck navigator last year. With Darek Rodewald moving to Dariusz Lysek's crew, Jiri Stross returns as the onboard mechanic, having already done the Dakar with Ales in 2017 and 2024.
D.K.
- David Kripal is a talented navigator who made his first competitive outing in a truck at Dakar 2025, guiding Ales Loprais to third overall. He returns in 2026 for a second appearance with InstaTrade Loprais Team De Rooy FPT and his eighth in total.
- The 43-year-old competed in the cars at the Dakar between 2018 and 2024, mainly alongside Tomas Ourednicek. Their best result together was 17th in 2019, and they also won the Morocco Desert Challenge in 2017.
- David had a real adventure on Dakar 2023, when he was supposed to be working as a photographer for Overdrive. Instead, he was thrown into a Century CR6 at the last minute as a co-driver for Frenchman Antoine Galland, and they soon realised had no common language. Despite all manner of hiccups, they made it to the finish line in Dammam, only to discover they were officially DNF.
J.S.
- Jiri Stross is a skilled mechanic who has been doing the Dakar since 2016, having made his debut with Jarosav Valtr in South America. This will be his seventh appearance and his third with Ales Loprais after 2017 and 2024.
- He has been a big fan of motorsport since he was a child and began competing as a co-driver in 2003, in traditional rally and rallysprint. Since 2020, he has been working with Dominik Nwelati in the Czech Rallysprint Championship.
- Jiri happens to share the same birthday as Ales and will turn 45 on 10 January.
Ambition
A.L.: "We made a lot of improvements to the truck when we joined forces with De Rooy last year, and it bore fruit. We have made more changes for Dakar 2026, and it should lead to a better result. We have a completely new truck with a shorter nose, which will give us better angles and improve our performance going uphill. We also improved the steering system, the suspension, the chassis, and a few other helpful things. The year has gone quickly! We didn't have time for other races, so we just focused on improving the truck, with tests in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Morocco. David is a great navigator and a good friend of mine, and I've worked with Jiri Stross before. It's nice to have an all-Czech crew. It's better, it's quicker, and the atmosphere is always nice when you come from the same country. The Dakar is the only event where you have proper competition in the trucks, and I think the battle in 2026 will be even better than before. I'm expecting a tight race, but we fully believe we can win. We will go for it!"
D.K.: "Last year was an amazing experience. I'm very happy to be with Ales in the cabin, he's a great person and an amazing driver. We had some technical issues with our leaf springs on the marathon stage, but these things happen. It's Dakar. We still won five stages and our overall position wasn't bad, but it must be better. This year we will do our best to be the best. The trucks are absolutely crazy. I've competed in a Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux, a Ford Ranger, and a Century buggy, but the trucks are out of this world. For me it's the best category at the Dakar. The cars can go at 170km/h and we are limited to 135km/h, but on some stages we were close to the top 20 overall. It's absolutely crazy how fast the trucks are. Our truck is very well prepared, and I hope next year will be for us. But this is Dakar. You can be very well prepared, but you still need a healthy slice of luck."
J.S.: "Every Dakar is different, difficult, and dangerous, but that's why people do it! Ales and I are in regular contact. We actually talked about competing together last year, but our little junior was born, and I wanted to spend his first Christmas and New Year with him. So I look forward to coming back at Dakar 2026 and to working with Ales, David and Team De Rooy. I will do my best to win, and I think everyone on the team will also do their best! The goal of Dakar is to win."
