“One of the last teams with a home-built truck”
En resumen
E.W.
- After competing in two Dakar in South America (2012 and 2013), Egbert Wingens created his own team in 2015 and brought Marijn Beekmans on board. Marije van Ettekoven later joined him at the Rallye du Maroc as a navigator, before eventually becoming his partner. This Dakar will be their third together, after the 2022 and 2023 editions.
- Normally a driver, Egbert took on the role of navigator during his last participation, in 2024. He says he learned a lot and had fun with his teammates, Gerard van Veenendaal and Philipp Rettig. But the T5.2 category is not his favourite, and he prefers being behind the wheel. As a result, he’ll be back in his home-built Iveco Torpedo in 2026, joining again the T5.1 class!
- The Dutchman claimed an interesting 17th place at the end of Dakar 2022 and was on the podium of the 2025 Morocco Desert Challenge. It’s fair to consider him one of the underdogs in the trucks race, even though he will also have the mission of assisting Paul Spierings, a strong podium contender in Challenger.
M.v.E.
- Marije van Ettekoven began competing in rallies on a bike in 2008, and that’s how she learned to navigate. A few years later, Egbert Wingens needed a new team member, and someone suggested her with these words: ‘Call Marije. She’s done a rally on a bike, is good at communication and not scared to break a nail or have a bit of sand in her underwear!” That’s how she met her future partner.
- Since then, Marije has taken part in three Dakar: two with Egbert and Marijn Beekmans -who are back together again in 2026- and one in a 100% female truck crew in 2024. She was the mechanic of the team, alongside Anja Van Loon and Floor Maten. She is one of the many women proving that rally-raid is definitely not a sport reserved for men!
- A horses lover, Marije currently has very little free time, as she acts as a sort of manager for the DDW Rallyteam. She is deeply attached to the team’s identity, proudly embracing their status as privateers driven by passion. She’s also never short on ideas when it comes to improving the truck they built themselves.
Ambición
E.W. and M.v.E: “We are back together and will be a very fast assistance crew, because we’re competing in the T5.1 category for Paul Spierings. As long as nothing happens to Paul, we’re confident we can be competitive! We’re proud to work with such a strong team like is Rebellion-Spierings. During the preparations we saw how hard they’re working to get everything 100% sorted. We had many meetings and discussions, the cooperation is excellent. The Saudi Arabian desert has everything. Last year the Empty Quarter was a big question mark for all of us, but its vast emptiness is amazing. I expect this year’s dunes to be tough as well. Based on what they’ve explained about the route, or the expected bivouac times, we do have some small worries, but we’re all in the same boat! We’re a privateer team with volunteers and I think we’re one of the last teams with a home-built truck. We’ve had it for a few years now and we always try to improve it. It’s an ongoing project.”
E.W. and M.v.E: “We are back together and will be a very fast assistance crew, because we’re competing in the T5.1 category for Paul Spierings. As long as nothing happens to Paul, we’re confident we can be competitive! We’re proud to work with such a strong team like is Rebellion-Spierings. During the preparations we saw how hard they’re working to get everything 100% sorted. We had many meetings and discussions, the cooperation is excellent. The Saudi Arabian desert has everything. Last year the Empty Quarter was a big question mark for all of us, but its vast emptiness is amazing. I expect this year’s dunes to be tough as well. Based on what they’ve explained about the route, or the expected bivouac times, we do have some small worries, but we’re all in the same boat! We’re a privateer team with volunteers and I think we’re one of the last teams with a home-built truck. We’ve had it for a few years now and we always try to improve it. It’s an ongoing project.”
