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Iveco and FPT Industrial will take part in
the Dakar 2012, the world’s premier
rally-raid event which sets off on 1st
January from Mar della Plata in Argentina
and ends in Lima, Peru, on 15th January.
Iveco and FPT Industrial will supply
vehicles, spare parts and engines to Dutch
team, De Rooy. |
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Iveco
and FPT Industrial will take part in the Dakar 2012, the
world’s premier rally-raid event which sets off on 1st
January from Mar della Plata in Argentina and ends in
Lima, Peru, on 15th January. Iveco and FPT Industrial
will supply vehicles, spare parts and engines to Dutch
team, De Rooy.
The newly branded Team “Petronas De Rooy Iveco” has
actually already debuted, at the Morocco Rally last
month. The Iveco vehicles were driven by Miki Biasion
and Gerard De Rooy and, despite the fact it was largely
a preparatory exercise, they achieved excellent results,
placing themselves first and second in the “special
truck” category and fifth and sixth overall.
A very encouraging start in preparation for the far
tougher challenge of the Dakar rally, which every year
attracts the attention of millions of rally enthusiasts
as well as that of the world media.
The Dutch team will compete in Dakar 2012 with four
Iveco Trakker 4x4s, featuring FPT Industrial Cursor 13
engines generating over 900 hp, specially equipped for
rallying, and with a Strator prototype made in Holland,
featuring an Iveco chassis and driveline and a cab based
on the Powerstar, produced and sold by Iveco in
Australia. Three of the rally trucks will be driven by
Miki Biasion (winner of Dakar in 1999, with a first
place in the truck category and fifth overall), Gerard
de Rooy and Hans Stacey (winner of Dakar 2007).
Another four Trakkers, tasked with providing vehicle
support and assistance during the competition, will
complete the line-up of team Petronas De Rooy Iveco at
the forthcoming Dakar event.
The Trakker, considered “best in class” for its everyday
use but also for far tougher challenges, is designed to
work in all climatic conditions and on all types of
terrain, from dirt roads to extreme off-road conditions,
with the utmost comfort, safety and productivity. The
forthcoming race will provide Iveco with an invaluable
opportunity to verify the behaviour of its product in
action: every single vehicle will be put through its
paces in extreme situations, making this the perfect
chance to carry out iimportant assessments on
reliability and performance. Iveco vehicles have already
proven their worth in tough tests in the past, for
example in the Overland 2010 expedition in which a
Trakker 6x6 and a Daily 4x4, taking the place of the
classic American cabs used in previous editions,
completed one of the toughest, most gruelling
expeditions of recent times.
FPT Industrial weighs into the rally-raid sector after
many recent achievements in the field of nautical
competitions, with its C13 engines. In fact, the speed
record was recently obtained by the offshore powerboat
Kerakoll, powered by two 9-litre C90-650 engines,
on the Montecarlo – Venice route. This result was
achieved consuming half the quantity of fuel than the
previous record set in 1994. This demonstrates the
exceptional services provided by FPT Industrial engines;
concern for the environment; reduction of fuel
consumption and operating costs, all of which are behind
engine production.
Dakar is part of a broader communication strategy
embraced by Iveco which, in line with its international
identity and on-going pursuit of initiatives capable of
conveying its vitality and energy, looks increasingly to
the world of sport. This, together with other company
initiatives in the sporting arena, such as the
partnership with the All Blacks, recently crowned Rugby
World Champions; its collaboration initiated in 2009
with MotoGP, the world’s premier motorcycling
championship, of which Iveco is “Trucks & Commercial
Vehicles Supplier” and its role as Official Supplier to
the Ferrari racing team, confirms Iveco’s attempts to
link its name to some of the leading names in the world
of international sport.
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