N°615 Car DAKARSPEED

MAURIK VAN DEN HEUVEL

(nld) Born on 14/07/1971 1.85m / 90kg

Hobbies

off road enduro, skiing, racing, rallying

Sponsors

SVZ transport / Unibouw / Gebr. van den Brand en van Oort B.V. / Synergie Nederland / Haegens Kraanverhuur BV / Truckparts 1919 / Van Kessel / XL Company / BuyBigTyres / Versteijnen Trucks B.V. / XL Infra / Adagium / Tricorp

2022 : DNF stage 7
2021 : DNF stage 3
2019 : 10th trucks category with Martijn van Rooij and Wilko Van Oort
2018 : 9th trucks category with Martijn van Rooij and Wilko Van Oort
2017 : 27th trucks category with Peter Kuijpers and Wilko Van Oort
2016 : 12th trucks category with Peter Kuijpers and Wilko Van Oort
2015 : DNF (stage 5)
2014 : 15th trucks category with Andre Wijngaart and Jack Derks

“If you survive to the first week, you have chances to stand in a good final position”

CREW FACTS

M.v.d.H.

  • Maurik started karting and 4x4 at 12 years old and auto cross, reverse car racing (backwards races) too. This last discipline is very famous in Netherlands. Afterwars, he made some enduro race at the of 25
  • he grew up in a small village with his father having a car business. Maurik started with a transportation business, first with small vans. The company grew up to 180 trucks in the Netherlands and Belgium ! He sold the company in november 2024, after 25 years of ownership
  • his new business now is in classic and exclusive cars. Indeed, he thinks, in the future, of participating to the Dakar in the Classic categroy with the Rolls Royce Corniche Jules. As a real Dutchman, Maurik's idol is Jan de Rooy, godfather of fast trucks on the Dakar
  • describing his other two "colleagues" on board, Maurik has these words : "Wilko, the navigator, is the boss. He is the owner of a transport company in the sand business (for construction), so he knows a lot about sand. Martijn has built trucks by himself, he knows every screw, every connection on the truck. But in terms of speed and strategy, we talk the three of us. It happens sometimes to lose nerves, but there is always one loser and one winner"

W.v.O.

  • As a child, Wilko has always followed the Dakar. Jan de Rooy has really spread the Dakar virus in the Netherlands, particularly in his province of Noord-Brabant. There have been a lot of participants from his neighbourhood and that is why he went to watch the prologue and start in Barcelona as a spectator in 2005 and also once in 2013 at the finish line in Santiago de Chile.
  • Both times, Herwin Hopmans and Marcel Huigevoort, his friends, have participated. Wilko started participating in 2014 as a driver of the service vehicle and as a mechanic in the bivouac. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 as a mechanic in the rally truck and in 2018, 2021 and 2022 as a navigator.
  • For Wilko, interaction and trust in the cabin are important but most of all, peace. He has a lot of experience in sandy surfaces, so he can guide the driver well and advise the mechanic on the correct tire pressure.
  • Wilko and his partners have a very nice and skilled team in the bivouac. All the team members are committed day and night to keep the truck in good condition. Wilko is also encouraged from home: his wife Eefke and his three children (2 daughters Lize and Fenne aged 12 and 10 and a son Finn, aged 8) follow the rally closely and support them remotely from home.

M.v.R.

  • As far as he can remember, Martijn has always wanted to do the Dakar. As a child, he would eventually sit in front of the TV in the mornings and evenings and dream of the adventure that Jan de Rooy experienced. The images stuck in his memory are the ones of the legendary catch-up action with Ari Vatanen: something not to forget!
  • Martijn never expected that he could end up in this world, so this is why he is so grateful that he can experience all this. He is the only member in his family who participates in motorsports. He sees himself as an "ordinary" mechanic who just has a lot of passion for his job.
  • His idols are Jan de Rooy, of course, and Martin Macik as the chassis comes from him. His daughters Liz and Ize think it is cool and very exciting that their father is participating in the Dakar. They watch it on TV every day with friend

2025 AMBITIONS

M.V.D.H.: “Top 5 ! The first week will be very special, very heavy because of the double marathon stages. If you survive, you have chances to stand in a good final position. It's important to slow down in the first week, so you can control your race.”

W.v.O.: “My goal is to finish but competitively within the Top 10. I think the 48h chrono is a very nice concept, in which men and machine are well tested and not only driving fast, but also smart and calculated driving. I also think the other stages are very nice. I haven't been yet to the Empty Quarter, so I am curious!"

M.V.R.: “My goal is to reach the Top 5. We finished a couple of times in the Top 10, so we need to go a step higher and go for Top 5.”

Vehicle

DAKARSPEED

SCANIA LONESTAR
DAKARSPEED

  • SCANIA
  • LONESTAR
  • Scania Euro 6
  • Dakar Speed
  • T5.1: Prototype Cross-Country Trucks

Ranking 2025

Follow us

Get exclusive information