Venhuizer Mark Laan looks back with satisfaction on the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The navigator finished ninth with his Firemen Dakar team. And only just back from the desert, he is already working on caravans.
“Then try to find your way again. That takes some getting used to. I’ll be back in a week,” says Mark with a laugh, who owns a service company for caravans in Venhuizen. The desert sand has been exchanged for the workshop, where he fondly remembers the racing event.
“During the day I am a caravan mechanic. To perform this in the winter months is nice,” he says. Last year the team dropped out early after a crash. This year Mark and his teammates crossed the finish line in ninth place. And that as the first ‘non-factory team’.
“We are an amateur team that is becoming more and more professional, but those factory teams have much larger budgets. The first four are Kamaz teams (from Russia, ed.). They work with 150 people at the factory. De Rooy, a participant who years of experience, also had four teams in the top ten. So that’s what we’re coming after and that’s great,” explains Mark.
Almost didn’t finish
Still, it almost went wrong on the way. The differential that turns the front axle broke. The stage could be completed, but then a race against the clock started. “We tinkered all night, but we were able to start the next day. We were very happy with that. Otherwise it was done, then it was the end of the rally.”
In the meantime, he is already working on next year’s edition. “We were already talking about that on the plane home,” says de Venhuizer. “What is the thrill of the Dakar Rally? That is inexplicable. It is a virus. You get it once and you can’t get rid of it.”