Dakar 2015: two Iveco vehicles finish in the top 10
The surviving 2015 Dakar teams reached the competition’s finish line after completing the final stage, in the town of Baradero, 150 km from Buenos Aires. The stage was won by Iveco's Hans Stacey, making it his third consecutive stage win and placing him 6th at the end of the rally. He was joined by Gerard de Rooy who finished 9thoverall. The stage marked the end of a tough race that challenged all the teams along a course which exceeded 8,000 km.
Turin, 19 January, 2015
The world’s toughest off-road rally competition has come to an end. The champions of the 2015 Dakar were announced in the Buenos Aires province of Baradero, the revised finishing point for the final stage.
Although the stage was originally set to be 174 km long, rally organisers decided to shorten it after torrential rain flooded roads across the region, producing deep mud that made certain sections impassable. Drivers in the Trucks and Cars categories drove just 54 kilometres to the first waypoint, while Motorcycles and Quads went on to the second waypoint located 101 km from the starting line.
Hans Stacey was the first truck to leave and took advantage of the clear road to win another stage in the 2015 Dakar. This was his third consecutive stage victory, having won a total of four stages throughout the rally. The Dutch driver, in an Iveco Powerstar, beat his countryman Marcel van Vliet (MAN) by 1m 19s and the 2015 Dakar champion, Airat Mardeev (Kamaz), by 2m 25s.
Gerard de Rooy finished the stage in 7th place in his Iveco Powerstar, 4m 36s behind Stacey, finishing ninth in the overall rankings. De Rooy had been one of the favourites to win the competition, but problems in the fourth stage made it impossible for him to achieve a podium finish. Regardless of his early setbacks, De Rooy kept pace with stage leaders and repeatedly earned a spot on the stage podium throughout the rally. This is the first Dakar where he finishes without having won a stage since 2011, when he was forced to pull out in the first stage.
Pep Vila, with his Iveco Trakker Evolution II, finished the day in 12th place, 9m 24s behind his winning teammate Hans Stacey. Even though he was unable to achieve his goal of finishing in the Top 10, the Spaniard ends his battle in the knowledge that he did all he could and that he demonstrated excellent teamwork throughout the rally. Vila came to the aid of his teammates on multiple occasions, enabling them to stay in the race. This includes stopping to assist in De Rooy’s early crash. Had he not lost that time in stage four, it is likely that Vila could have also finished in the Top 10.
Pierre Lahutte, Iveco Brand President, who was present in Buenos Aires declared: "Our three trucks all arrived at the finish line, confirming their reliability and durability in the most extreme conditions. We did not end up on the podium as we had hoped, but we persevered and won the last three stages of the Dakar. Congratulations to the whole team."
More info available at www.iveco.com/dakar
Results -Stage 13
1. STACEY (IVECO) 20m55s
2. Van Vliet (MAN) +1m19s
3. Mardeev (Kamaz) +2m25s
8. DE ROOY (IVECO) +4m36s
12. VILA (IVECO) +9m24s
Overall Classification -2015 Dakar
1. Mardeev (Kamaz) 42h22m27s
2. Nikolaev (Kamaz) +13m53s
3. Karginov (Kamaz) +48m40s
4. Loprais (MAN) +1h56m44s
5. Sotnikov (Kamaz) +2h24m33s
6. STACEY (IVECO) +2h29m27s
7. Kolomy (Tatra) +4h07m29s
8. Van Vliet (MAN) +4h19m37s
9. DE ROOY (IVECO) +7h08m32s
10.Vasilevski (Maz) +7h09m04s
11. Van Genugten (Daf) +8h24m28s
12. Smink (Ginaf) +8h29m24s
13. VILA (IVECO) +8h35m10s
14. Vratny (Tatra) +9h56m01s
15. Rotsaert (MAN) +10h26m02s
ends
Iveco
Iveco is a brand of CNH Industrial N.V., a World leader in Capital Goods listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CNHI) and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario of the Borsa Italiana (MI: CNHI). Iveco designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks, and vehicles for applications such as off-road missions.
The brand’s wide range of products include the Daily, a vehicle that covers the 3 – 7 tonne vehicle weight segment, the Eurocargo from 6 – 16 tonnes, the Trakker (dedicated to off-road missions) and the Stralis, both over 16 tonnes. In addition, with the brand Iveco Astra, builds mining and construction vehicles, rigid and articulated dump trucks and speciality vehicles.
Iveco employs close to 21,000 individuals globally. It manages production sites in 7 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Latin America where it produces vehicles featuring the latest advanced technologies. 4,200 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries guarantee technical support wherever an Iveco vehicle is at work.
For further information about Iveco: www.iveco.com
For further information about CNH Industrial: www.cnhindustrial.com
For more information contact:
Nigel Emms, Press and Public Relations Director
Iveco Ltd
Tel. +44 (0)1923 259513
nigel.emms@iveco.com
www.iveco.co.uk
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