Mitchel van den Brink wins MDC rally
Mitchel van den Brink and navigator Bart van Heun from the Eurol Rally Sport team have won the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge in the overall SSV classification.
January 15, 2023
Nasser Al-Attiyah was in command of the race in the cars category after some of his main opponents made big mistakes. It helped the Qatari to a comfortable lead and al he had to do was manage it after the rest day. He did that with incredible performances over the second week and finish more than one hour clear of the first competitor. Al-Attiyah won the Dakar for the fifth time and gifted Toyota Gazoo Racing a third win on the toughest race of them all.
Giniel de Villiers finished another Dakar and did it in style. The South African finished the tough race just shy of the podium in fourth place as Henk Lategan rectified some mistakes on the second week and finished fifth.
Martin van den Brink was in the hunt for a first Dakar win in the truck category, but he just missed out due to bad luck on the very last stages of the race. Van den Brink was in contention for the overall and kept his head cool during the race as he won the 11th stage, his first stage win since 2016. Van den Brink lost two hours on the penultimate stage of the rally and that ultimately cost him a shot at the win. In the end Van den Brink settled for third place behind fellow Dutchman Janus van Kasteren and Martin Macik. That’s his personal best result.
Mitchel van den Brink lost his chance for overall glory early on in the race. After a two hour time loss in the second stage, Van den Brink Junior had to settle for a role in assisting his father during the second half of the race. He had a stunning race as he won stage six and finished second five times. In the end, Van den Brink managed a great fouth place in the overall classification.
As the chances for overall glory were gone early for the Riwald Dakar Team, Pascal de Baar continued his hunt for stage wins in the second week of the race. De Baar came close quite a few times and finally got his first win in seven years during the tenth stage. Despite the problems early on, De Baar showed promising speed with the Renault package.
Mitchel van den Brink and navigator Bart van Heun from the Eurol Rally Sport team have won the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge in the overall SSV classification.
The final stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally has concluded! Today, the drivers tackled a challenging 175 km stretch through rocky terrain, culminating in a stunning finish along...
After six tough stages, the participants are enjoying a well-deserved rest day. The first week of the Dakar has proven to be a real endurance test for various teams.
With the 2024 Dakar Rally approaching, Saudi Arabia will once again be the backdrop for the world's toughest rally from January 5 to 19.
Mitchel van den Brink and navigator Bart van Heun from the Eurol Rally Sport team have won the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge in the overall SSV classification.
The final stage of the 2024 Dakar Rally has concluded! Today, the drivers tackled a challenging 175 km stretch through rocky terrain, culminating in a stunning finish along...
After six tough stages, the participants are enjoying a well-deserved rest day. The first week of the Dakar has proven to be a real endurance test for various teams.
With the 2024 Dakar Rally approaching, Saudi Arabia will once again be the backdrop for the world's toughest rally from January 5 to 19.