OUD-BEIJERLAND, The Netherlands, January 16th 2017 - With two stages cancelled and many contesters struggling to stay in the race, the Dakar Rally lived up to its reputation of being the toughest rally in the world once again.
The weather was not in favor of the competing teams, as some stages were shortened with two even abandoned because of extreme climatic conditions. There has been a massive landslide, caused by thunderstorms and torrential rain, resulting in the cancellation of Stage 9. Luckily the conditions improved and the rest of the stages did not come in danger.
Riwald Dakar Team “Fast Assistance”
One of the Dakar teams on KONI shock absorbers is the Riwald Dakar Team “Fast Assistance”, the service truck of the Riwald Dakar Team. KONI has combined its' extensive knowledge of shock absorption for both trucks and defence applications into a shock absorber specifically designed for driving the GINAF truck in the tough environment of the Dakar. High temperatures, long stages and rough terrain challenge the truck and the tailor made shock absorbers extremely.
During Stage 2, the teams' partner truck crashed and one of the front wheels broke off. Without the need of helping them, the Fast Assistance team was able to help many other contestants, including Tom Coronel and the Mammoet Rally Sport team. The team of Ed Wigman, Joël Ebbers and Rik Slijkhuis encountered some hard stages with the weather, but they managed to finish every one of them.
Dakar Press Team
Even though the conditions were not optimal, the Dakar Press Team still managed to make many beautiful images. The team consists of two cars: a Volkswagen Amarok Dakar Proto and a Toyota Landcruiser 105 Dakar Xtreme, both fully equipped with KONI shock absorbers. Since 2004 they report on the Dakar Rally. Their special reports and visual productions are dispatched globally to printed media and online magazines, covering many press articles worldwide.
About KONI
With more than 150 years of experience in the area of shock absorber solutions, KONI has the know-how to optimize a vehicle’s driving, feeling and handling. Operating on all continents, KONI shocks are supplied to the world’s markets through a vast number of local distributors. KONI develops, manufactures and sells hydraulic shock absorbers and systems for street and racing cars, buses, trucks, trailers, railway rolling stock, defense and industrial applications. Since 1972, KONI has been part of ITT, a global diversified industrial company with employees in more than 35 countries and customers in approximately 125 countries.
For any further information please contact:
Clarissa Boomgaards - Marketing & Communications Specialist, KONI B.V.
clarissa.boomgaards@itt.com | +31 186 635 649