Dakar | Truck, Stage 2: Van Kasteren on top with Loprais

Six seconds divided the first two trucks after 463 km of special stage in the second stage of the Dakar which brought the caravan of heavy vehicles to the Al Duwadimi bivouac: this figure says a lot about the competitiveness that distinguishes the crews engaged with the bison of the road.

Janus Van Kasteren signs the third success in a row (prologue and two specials), already equalizing the score with last year's edition of the Dakar. Which says it all about the Dutchman's approach to this event: aware of being the big favourite, Van Kasteren took control of the rally-raid with the Iveco Powerstar of the Boss Machinery team De Rooy FPT, closing the timed section characterized by track sections, sandy sections and dunes in a time of 4.36'12”.

Janus always had a consistent margin to keep his pursuers at bay, varying between three and five minutes, but when in the stretch after the control at km 342 he had the sensation of having the stage in his hands, he began to manage the advantage, letting Ales Loprais' Prague get closer. He didn't think that the Czech would arrive at the checkered flag with a delay of just 8 seconds with his “Lady” as he nicknamed his vehicle which, compared to last year, only has new management of the faster automatic gearbox thanks to which he can manage power more easily.

After the exciting final rush, the Czech returns to being second in the overall standings with a gap from Van Kasteren of just 12'55”. This very demanding stage gave a first skimming of the top positions: Gert Huzink started the day badly because at km 42 he overturned on a dune and it took more than half an hour to put the Renault C460 Hybrid back in get back on the road. The Dutchman from the Jongbloed Dakar Team was able to react very well to adversity, gradually reducing the gap from the race leader to just over 26 minutes. Now he would be fifth overall, 33'32″ behind the Iveco: the wheels-in-the-air misadventure could have had devastating effects and, instead, the Renault emerged only a little dented, but is still in perfect working order. In reality, the sports commissioners penalized him by 16 minutes, so he slipped to sixth place with a gap of 42'29”.

In third place in the special, Martin Macik stands out as he is already in the podium area with the MM Technology Powerstar at 21'47”. The Czech has no intention of breaking his pace, avoiding the excesses of the past, and is already in the positions that count…

Another man in the standings got a 15-minute penalty: we are talking about Jaroslav Valtr with the Tatra Phoenix of Buggyra ZM Racing, but despite the adversities he keeps himself in fifth place overall, immediately behind his teammate Pascal De Baar, excellent fourth in 40'55 from Van Kasteren.

Already after the hour we find Michiel Becx, seventh in the general with the Powerstar of the De Rooy team but in his colours. The Dutchman received a 20-minute penalty, while the young Michiel Van der Brink with the Iveco of Eurol Eurosport was very late in the early stages of the day and paid 1.16″ which made him slip to ninth place overall, right in front to Claudio Bellina who finished the stage in fifth place overall which is the best result ever for the Italian MM Technology driver.

Between Becx and Van der Brink, the Tatra of Vaidotas Paskevicius had slipped into eighth place, struggling with small problems that slowed down the Lithuanian, but upon arrival he was given a 1'30″ penalty for which he slipped to ninth position for just 5 seconds! This Dakar, considered by the race director, David Castera, as the toughest ever, has yet to come to life and is already starting to determine a tough selection…

Dakar 2024 – General classification Trucks
Stage 2: Al Henakiyah – Al Henakiyah
Special: 463 km; Transfer: 192; Total: 655 km