MKR together with Mammoet Wins the OiLibya Rally

12.10.2015

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MKR Technology together with Mammoet Rallysport team recorded its first historical gold in a rally. Their Dakar special, constructed for the Dutch, won the prestigious OiLibya Rally in Morocco. The euphoria and joy is incredible. The golden boy, pilot Martin van den Brink left behind even the Dakar champion Gerard de Rooy and his new partner Aleš Loprais.

"It’s just unbelievable. We didn’t come here to win. The main goals were testing the technology and keep the pace with the best ones. We didn’t even dream about the victory. Martin did an amazing job, just like his co-pilot Petr, who was taking care of the material and alarmed us about possible problems during the race. Thanks to that we managed to minimize the risk of defects and didn’t get lost. Simply put, I’m over the moon,“ said the chief constructor and author of the MKR Adventure project Mario Kress, glowing with happiness.

The team couldn’t have had a better start at the five-day-long OiLibya Rally in Morroco, triumphing at the opening three-hundred-kilometre stage. It took the Dutch Martin van den Brink three hours and forty-five minutes to tackle the trail, as he managed to build a great foundation of the future success. He came to the finishing line more than a minute before the Portuguese Villagra on the second and almost fifteen minutes before Aleš Loprais on the third. The other of MKR Technology’s trucks with Pascal de Baar in the cabin came on the ninth after he had dropped from fourth place due to a wheel defect.

Martin van den Brink added bronze in the second 240-kilometre-long stage, and was removed from the leader’s position by Villagra. His colleague de Baar arrived on the twelfth.

Martin van den Brink completed the medal collection in the following third stage, in which he finished second with only a minimum loss on the victorious Loprais. De Baar occupied seventh place in the stage.

Van den Brink returned to the lead of the entire rally on the fourth, penultimate, day, when he missed only a minute on the winning Portuguese Villagra. De Baar finished on the fifth. “Martin seized the top rank and obviously, he wished to maintain the lead. We knew we had to drive safely and avoid any unnecessary mistakes,“ commented Mario.

However, the Dutch pilot of Mammoet Rallysport did an excellent job. He completed the last fifth stage consisting of almost two hundred and forty kilometres on the second place, only one minute after the winner Aleš Loprais. Pascal de Baar also improved his personal best from the race, finishing on the fourth in the stage and sixth overall. Anyway, one dream came true when Martin van den Brink reached the highest rank for the first time in both his career and MKR Technology’s existence. Not once was he beaten by the Dakar winner from 2012 Gerard de Rooy. “It’s just unbelievable. Naturally, we were worried about de Rooy and Loprais‘ team strategy before the last stage, but Martin tackled all obstacles and so we can celebrate a historical success,“ said the happy Mario.

The OiLibya Rally was the last rehearsal before the renowned Dakar and with its parameters it resembles the legendary race very much. In Morocco we experienced some treacherous stones and narrow mountainous hairpins and passages, as well as fast, flat sections and dunes.

“Yes, the stages were extremely hard and as such made a great training for the Dakar. Our success was secured by the fact that we put a lot of effort into the shock absorbers and their suspension. Each night the guys were servicing 100% so that we could prevent or minimize some unwanted technical surprises. There was a great atmosphere in the team the entire time. All of that had a key influence on winning the title,“ praised Mario his team.

Kress founded the exceptionally successful truck racing team MKR Technology in northern Bohemia five years ago. Apart from several wins they also achieved the Constructors‘ Trophy in the European Truck Racing Championship series. Last year he launched the MKR Adventure project and together they want to conquer the famous Dakar. And boy did they start out well. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re there for the long haul. In terms of development, we’ve got about half the work done. There’ll be fierce competition at the Dakar and the key thing is luck. You never now what can happen. We have to take it step by step and I believe the success will eventually come,“ wishes Mario.

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