MKR Technology introduces 3 trucks for Dakar 2018

13.11.2017

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Preparations culminate. Only a couple of days before the departure for Rally Dakar gets real. Team presentations and crews’ introductions for the renowned rally are filling the programme nowadays. Start of the rally itself is scheduled for January, but all the machinery is setting off for South America on the last weekend of November. MKR Technology, designer team from northern Bohemia is sending a trio of trucks driven by Dutch pilots to fight for the Bedouin trophy. A local element, Daniel Kozlovský from Roudnice, will be present on board as well.

                  "We are now really busy. We have made several changes and worked hard to fine tune our gear. Everything is set and going, the machines are now taking part in big presentations. There is a lot of them until our departure.” added Mario Kress, the main designer and leader of MKR Adventure.

                  The main presentation took part on the last weekend as a part of traditionally bombastic event -  RTL GP Pre-proloog in Valenswaard in Holland. Thousands of spectators at Eurocircuit could see not only former Dakar winner, Gérard de Rooy, along with other Dutch participants of the rally, but most importantly they could see current crews of Mammoet Rallysport team. The crew consists of Martin van den Brink as a pilot, Daniel Kozlovský as a board technician and Wouter Rosegaar as a navigator. These men will race in Renault Trucks CBH 385 special, which is widely known as Sherpa. In the second truck, cab-over-engine version of the K520, a pilot has been replaced after four years. Pascal de Baar was replaced by a 31year old Janus van Kasteren from Veldhoven. He will go through his début at Dakar. But in the cockpit he will have experienced team-mates – Richard Mouw as a technician and Wouter de Graaff as a navigator. Primary objective of this crew is to provide quick assistance for Martin van den Brink.

                  On the following weekend, presentation of the Riwald Dakar team will take place as well. Mario Kress prepared a third K520 truck for them. Gerd Huzink will drive this truck, as usual. Swiss fans of the most famous rally can his see special truck soon as well. Between 16th and 19th November, the truck, as a part of collaboration with Renault Truck Swiss, can be seen at the utility vehicle Expo, TransportCH in Bern. At the same weekend, a traditional team presentation of the Mammoet team on their home turf in Harskamp will take place, so that all the gear can then move to French port Le Havre. On November 21^st and 22^nd technical handover are planned and soon after that the ship will set sail for South America.

                  The Dakar will be very different this time. It's Dakar's 40^th edition and 10^th edition in South America. It starts on 6^th January in Lima, Peru and will go along Pacific Ocean from where it will proceed further into Peruvian sand dunes. The racers and the whole Dakar caravan will move into Bolivia capital, La Paz, where a free day is scheduled. The next part of the journey leads into Argentina through Fimbalá desert. In two weeks’ time, on 20 January, the luckiest ones will reach Argentinian city of Cordóba. “Everybody  is very excited. After all the hardships we have gone through, we are bit reserved in our statements, because the biggest factor impacting the overall outcome is luck. Without luck you can have your gear prepared on the highest level and still you will not make it. We have done our best and we know that our trucks can be among the best. This year the course goes a lot in high altitudes. We have taken this into account during our preparations, now the only thing to do is to cheer for us, because we are used to fighting even in the harshest conditions,” says Mario Kress, looking forward to Rally Dakar 2018.

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