“A combination of things and the perfect timing”
En resumen
R.G.
- As far as he can remember, Roger Grouwels has always dreamed about car racing. As a child, he wanted to be a karting driver, but without support from his father, he turned instead to horse riding competition.
- Roger began working in the real estate industry at 22 years old and joined the family business three years later. His real racing career started in the late 1990s with a Renault Clio, before moving on to supercars such as BMW, Porsche, Viper, and Corvette. In 2005, he even founded his own team, RaceArt, which provides service at circuits all over Europe. He participated in a lot of Porsche Cup Benelux (once champion) and Ferrari Challenge (once World Champion) races.
- The Dakar Rally has always been on Roger’s bucket list. He competed in 2023 and 2024, but technical and electrical failures prevented him from reaching the finish. The third attempt proved successful: the passionate Dutchman earned his first finisher’s medal in 2025. He’s back in 2026, stepping up to a powerful T1+ car, once again alongside Rudolf Meijer.
- Roger is currently focused on off-road racing and wants to do it for ten years more. But he also plans to compete in some 24-hour circuit races, in Spa-Francorchamps or Dubai, together with his son Jules that has now started racing in the Porsche Cup. And that could one day, who knows, follow his father in the rally-raid world.
R.M.
- As a young boy, Rudolf was a pilot in many different sports. He grew up watching the Dakar Rally on TV but never imagined that it could be a realistic goal for him. He believed it was reserved for the rich and famous.
- He later competed in numerous circuit races and became champion in the Saker Sportscar Challenge and the Dutch Supercar Challenge. He also won the 24H Series Barcelona in the SP3 class.
- After his track racing career, he transitioned into off-road rallying, first as a mechanic and later as a navigator. When something goes wrong, he can jump out of the car and fix it himself! He participated in some Bajas in Europe, and various editions of the Morocco Desert Challenge, like his father, his uncle, his two nephews and his niece! Motorsport truly runs in the family.
- He finished his first Dakar, in 2023, at an impressive 8th place with Hans Weijs He then entered the 2025 edition with Roger Grouwels, repeating the 8th position but in the Challenger category. The Dutch duo seized the opportunity to step up to the Ultimate class in the powerful Century CR7. To gain experience with their new car, they have already competed in the Morocco Desert Challenge, Baja Poland, and the Rallye du Maroc.
Ambición
R.G.: “Dakar 2025 was amazing. We had a very good connection with Rudolf, I finished the rally for the first time, and with a strong result. Now we are stepping up to the Ultimate class. I’m already 61 years old, so I probably have around ten good years left to compete at a high level. I like to challenge myself, and that’s also why I chose to do this now. We followed the Century brand, they have made huge progress, and the relationship between Century’s management and their customers is excellent. We didn’t just choose the Ultimate class, we also chose the brand. In the end, it was a combination of things and the perfect timing. Last year in T4, my ambition was to finish in the Top 10. In Ultimate, the goal is to finish in the first half of the field, so let’s say inside the Top 25. I really like the Saudi Arabian tracks: you have stones, sand, dunes, and the Dakar is very well organized. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to see some great scenery, but in Ultimate I don’t think you really have much time to enjoy the landscapes!”
R.M.: “We had a really good Dakar 2025. We faced some issues at the beginning and needed time to get used to the car, but we improved day by day. We managed to finish every stage in daylight, and the main challenge was keeping the tyres in one piece. Now there is a new challenge in Ultimate. I trained more this time because it requires better physical preparation. We are probably not the fastest in the field, but if we can stay out of trouble, a Top 20 result is possible. For our first Dakar in Ultimate, the main goal is of course to reach the finish line. It’s a new car and a new team, so we still have to get use to everything, but we’ve already completed three rallies and everything feels good. The space of the car is different, it’s a purpose-built race car: they position the engine first, then the driver, and finally find a spot for the navigator. It’s a very good car with perfect balance, real racing machinery. Shiver is doing an excellent job with the complete package: identical cars, strong mechanics, and great service. They operate almost like a factory team, so it was hard to say no!”
