Racing driver Erik van Loon from Eersel has been a fixture on the international rally circuit for years. And now his wife Anja is also knocking on the door. Last week she made her debut in Tunisia with a buggy in the Cross Country. Anja dreams big: in 2024 she wants to be the first Dutch woman to drive the Dakar Rally in a truck.
The dream of Anja van Loon (37) does not come out of the blue. Anyone who hears her maiden name, Van de Laar, immediately understands why she is so eager to drive the Dakar Rally with a truck. It was spoon-fed to her. Her father, who unfortunately passed away too early, and Dakar legend Fried was an example for her, just like Anja’s brothers Ben and Jan.
“I went to rallies with my dad and my brothers from an early age,” says Anja van Loon-Van de Laar. “I already got my driver’s license when I was eighteen and have always driven a truck. Once I was able to drive the service car during the Dakar Rally. So it became my dream to experience it myself as a driver.”
“It’s great to be out and about with the same team.”
To achieve that goal, she gets help from her husband Erik van Loon (53). The racing driver from Eersel has been participating in the Dakar Rally since 2009 and is bursting with experience. As a kind of mentor, he made a solid plan with Anja.
“If you just drive the Dakar Rally with a truck and think everything will be fine, you are wrong,” says the professional rally driver. “That is real wishful thinking. You have to gain experience first and learn a lot. Experience what you are and are not good at. Part of the plan is that Anja will first drive the Dakar in 2023 in a buggy.”
The racing couple will travel frequently in the near future. Both will participate in the same competitions, so that Erik can coach wife Anja as well. This happened for the first time last week during the Tunisia Desert Challenge.
“When we have competitions, there is a good babysitter at home for daughter Loekie.”
That does require some adjustments. For example, the camper is no longer shared with regular navigator Sebastien Delaunay. “I had parked my navigator somewhere else,” Erik van Loon laughs. “It’s ideal because we can immediately discuss how it went. I really love being on the road with the same team. There is almost nothing more beautiful than being together in a motorhome at a rally.”
In preparation for the Dakar Rally in January this year, the Van Loon couple will compete in Italy, Spain, Morocco, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. Their three-year-old daughter Loekie is unable to attend. “Normally she always went with me,” explains Anja. “But because we are both now driving, that is no longer possible. When we have competitions, there is a good babysitter at home.”
Anja van Loon’s debut in the Cross Country was promising. Where Erik finished 2nd in his class, Anja finished 26th out of 62 participants. “I am very satisfied”, Anja says about her debut. “I’ve never ridden in a buggy and it’s getting better every day. Finishing is still the most important thing for me.”
That difference in racing level ensures that both will not soon drive a rally together. “And I’m not going to sit in a truck,” Erik says firmly.
