An Iveco Powerstar hasn't won in three stages, but the 46th edition of the Dakar reserved for trucks is monopolized by the bison of the Italian road. After two successes for Gerd Huzink's hybrid Renault, the Praga V4S DKR of Ales Loprais returned to the fore, winning stage 11 with a 420 km special stage with mixed terrain, in which treacherous rocks caused many punctures which upset the trend of the day, bringing to the fore the two Tatra Buggyras of Jaroslav Valtr, third, and Pascal De Baar, fourth.
If the day's scenario was a bit disrupted, the physiognomy of the general classification has not changed: Martin Macik leads the overall classification with the MM Technology Iveco since the 48 Hours stage which preceded the day of rest, but has accumulated a such an advantage that he has no need to charge forward, defending the margin with control of the race. Even when Yanbu arrived, the Czech finished in second place, giving only five minutes to Loprais who was over two hours behind.
Praga breaks Iveco's hegemony in the general classification: there are seven Powerstars in the first nine and you have to reach Hino seventh with Sugarawa to find another truck that isn't Italian. It must be said that there is great solidarity among the Iveco crews: Van Kasteren, fourth, did not hesitate to stop to support Mitchel Van den Brink in difficulty. The Dutchman from the Boss Machinery team De Rooy could have attacked the third place of his young compatriot, but he preferred to support his Eurol Rallysport colleague.
Claudio Bellina with the Italtrans Iveco managed by MM Technology maintains the excellent eighth position, while the Ladies led by Anija Van Loon moved to 12th.
Dakar 2024 – General classification Trucks
Stage 11: Alula – Yanbu
Special: 420 km; Transfer: 107; Total: 527 km
POS. | Pilot/Mechanic/Navigator | Truck | Time/detachment |
1. | Macik-Svanda-Tomasek | Iveco Powerstar | in 52.31'45″ |
2. | Loprais-Valtr jr-Stross | Prague V4S DKR | at 2.01'01″ |
3. | Van den Brink M.-De Pol-Torrallardona | Iveco Powerstar | at 4.27'25″ |
4. | Van Kasteren-Snijders-Rodewald | Iveco Powerstar | at 5.26'42″ |
5. | Becx-Kuijpers-Van Ginkel | Iveco Powerstar | at 11.34'12″” |
6. | Sugawara-Somemiya-Mochizuki | Hino 600 | at 17.02'38″ |
7. | Bellina-Gotti-Arnoletti | Iveco Powerstar | at 20.20'15″” |
8. | De Groot B.-Boogaard-Hofmans | Iveco Powerstar | at 46.49'02″ |
9. | De Groot R.-Hulsenbosch-Van Rooij | Iveco T Way | at 55.59'13″ |
10. | De Baar P.-Sikola-Vershoor | Tatra Buggyra | at 62.27'54″ |
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