“Just happy to be there with my brother and my family”

After mixing media car duties with rally raids for several years, Ben de Groot completed his first Dakar in 18th place in 2022. Preparations for the 2023 event were rocked by a health scare for brother William. The resulting reshuffle sees Ben take over William’s place in the driving seat of their new De Rooy-built Iveco truck. Technical problems, as well as physical ones, made this participation difficult. In fact, Ben has had a difficult year, marred by hand problems. He had to have surgery and is still in pain, but decided to participate anyway, hoping that things will be ok. His brother is doing better and will return to the race. Therefore, the CEO of the family-owned de Groot fresh group goes there with a fairly simple state of mind: the happiness of being present and living this experience with his family and the people he loves. He will have with him Gobert Boogard, already at his side in 2022, and Ad Hofmans.

B.d.G.: “I’ve always loved anything with an engine and was just happy to follow from the sidelines, with the media or doing some small rallies by myself in Morocco, etc. But I finally did my first truck Dakar in 2022. After the 2023 race I needed to be operated in Holland and problems with my hand are still there. It’s a daily pain but it should be ok. With my brother William, we took the decision to both drive and we’re very happy to be on the starting line. The goal is now to reach the final stage and to finish the race without any problem. I have a truck that can fight for top positions but I don’t want it; I‘m coming for the finisher medal!”