Truck race : Batavians vs Bohemians

December 7 ^th 2023 - 13:54 [GMT + 3]

Dutch and Czech drivers are the hot favourites among the 47 trucks on the start list of the Dakar, which will get going in AlUla on 5 January.
The reigning champion, Janus van Kasteren, will face a double challenge from his countrymen Martin and Mitchel van den Brink. The Czechs are counting on Aleš Loprais and Martin Macík to reclaim the throne.

Never before had eight different crews won stages in the same edition since the official launch of the truck category in 1999. Last January, Saudi Arabia set the scene for a free-for-all battle in which the lead changed hands four times, with Janus van Kasteren emerging victorious in the end. The 36-year-old Dutchman clinched the title in his fifth start, returning the Netherlands and Team De Rooy to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2016.

The fight for the podium should be a rematch between the Dutch and Czech contingents, each with several crews who have a real shot at the title. The Dutch are spreading their eggs between two baskets: the Ivecos fine-tuned in the De Rooy workshops and those racing for Eurol Rallysport. However, Dutch fans have more than one reason to cheer, as Mitchel van den Brink also turned heads when he became the youngest ever stage winner in the category at the tender age of 20. He also finished just outside the podium, right behind his mentor Martin van den Brink, who also posted a career-best performance in third place. The father-son duo could be leading the charge between AlUla and Yanbu next month. Anja van Loon, the captain of the first 100% female truck crew, also has a family story with many twists to tell. She learned the ropes of rally raid from an early age from her father, Fried van de Laar, and later from her husband, Erik van Loon (fourth in the car race in 2015). Meanwhile, Gert Huzink made history by scoring the first stage win in a hybrid truck in 2023 and will be eyeing a strong overall performance this time round.

The Czechs are spreading their bets even more. The heir to six-time winner Karel Loprais is also the most obvious candidate to follow in his footsteps. Aleš, the old champion's nephew, was leading the race last January when he quit the race. While he has gained a reputation as a stage hunter since he started driving in 2007 (11 stage victories to his name), the driver of the Praga he dubbed "Lady" looked every bit the part of a winner and is returning with the same fire in his belly. One of his compatriots, though, has also carved himself a niche among the favourites. Martin Macík picked up four stage wins in the 2023 Dakar and, even more importantly, he was the overall runner-up. In his tenth Dakar in a truck, the 34-year-old will aim to crack the top 10 for the seventh time, preferably in the top spot. Back home, those in the know will keep a close eye on Buggyra Racing's Tatra trucks and their drivers, Jaroslav Valtr and Martin Šoltys, who finished fifth and seventh last time, respectively. The Japanese Teruhito Sugawara, tenth in 2023, is perhaps targeting a similar finish in his nineteenth start behind the wheel of a Hino. Last but not least, Vaidotas Paškevičius put Lithuania on the map after claiming the final stage in 2023, in what could be the dawn of a new balance of power in the category.