Anja van Loon (38) from Eersel delivered an excellent performance with the buggy in her first Dakar Rally in January. But she dreams bigger and wants to be the first Dutch woman in a race truck in 2024 at the start of the toughest rally in the world. With an all-female crew, Anja practiced for the first time on a military training ground in Poland on Wednesday.
A big smile decorates Anja van Loon’s mouth when she gets out of the race truck. For the first time she was behind the wheel of an Iveco Powerstar and tore through the sand in Zielona Gora together with navigator Floor Maten and mechanic Suzanne Peek.
“It’s really cool”, Anja says, still full of adrenaline from the first hours in the race truck. “It’s nothing like driving a buggy. It’s much nicer than I imagined!”
“With Gerard de Rooy as a teacher, I couldn’t wish for a better one.”
It is good to see Anja van Loon chasing her dream. The passion, the will and the fun radiate from it. She wants to finish the Dakar Rally in a truck, just like her deceased father Fried van de Laar and her brothers Ben and Jan.
“This is something I’ve wanted very much for a long time. Actually, ever since I drove the service car for my father in the Dakar Rally in 2012. I’ve taken another step forward today and that feels good.”
She liked the first introduction to the Iveco Powerstar. She currently drives a borrowed truck from Team de Rooy, but will soon be the first female team member to have her own truck. “I’ve had my large driver’s license since I was eighteen,” says Anja. “But driving a race truck is stiffer than I thought. But after the first lap I was already completely familiar with the truck.”
Anja also receives professional help in Poland to master the truck. No less than two-time Dakar winner Gerard de Rooy drove a lap. “I couldn’t wish for a better teacher,” says Anja. “I immediately learned a lot.”
“The tanks came towards us and one even aimed the barrel at us.”
What makes Anja’s venture truly unique is the fact that in 2024 she will drive the Dakar Rally with an all-women team. A baptism of fire also took place in the cabin on Wednesday. Fortunately, it clicks with navigator Floor Maten and mechanic Suzanne Peek.
“As girls we immediately had a lot of fun together,” says Van Loon. “We are on a military training area and there are about fifteen tanks driving around. They cross everywhere, so we have to avoid them. The tanks really came at us from all sides and one even aimed the barrel at us. Well, we were completely in a dent. That is quite special.”
At the end of the afternoon, perhaps the biggest challenge awaited the three girls. Changing a tyre, which is important in the Dakar Rally, could be a problem. A tire weighs 150 kilograms. “But it went really well,” says Anja. “We got the tire lifted and changed! I’m 100 percent more confident now that we’re all going to make it.”
