“We need hard tracks because it’s the toughest rally in the world”

With 15 Dakars under his belt -on both two and four wheels- and a past stage winner in the truck class, Pascal De Baar is another to throw his hat into the ring as a potential 2023 winner in the absence of Kamaz. First competing in the Dakar with a motorbike in 2005, the Dutchman‘s latest quest will be bolstered by substantial engine and chassis changes to their Renault truck after 14th place last season. Marcin Kruger, a Berlin-Breslau bike rally winner, will perform navigation duties, continuing a partnership that stretches back 25 years. Stefan Slootjes serves as mechanic for what De Baar expects to be a tough Dakar route.

P.D.B.: “I did the Dakar a few times on a bike and all my family were saying ‘that’s nice, but when are you going with the truck?’ because that’s our family business. So it’s what I did, working my way up from running an old truck to completely new builds. Winning the toughest stage of the 2016 event and finishing sixth overall, really got us noticed.
“Now I’m happy at the Riwald team and believe this can be a good Dakar for us, as long as we avoid any big mistakes the top five or even podium is possible. Without the Russians, it’s impossible to predict who is going to win.
“We’ve worked hard on the truck -longer wheelbase, longer springs, redesigned engine, new gearbox. I think we did everything we could, including a lot of testing. That’ll be important because the dunes look more soft and technical this year, which is a good thing.
“Last year, if you were in the top 10 and missed conquering a dune, you knew you would lose two, three or four places. There were days that the top ten was within 10 minutes! This year it’ll be experience, skill and luck that counts and not that everybody in the top 10 is going to get easily through the dunes. We need hard tracks because it's the toughest rally in the world.”