Mixed feelings for Leeuw after Dakar debut as a driver: ‘I’m disappointed’

He is only 20 years old, but Marnix Leeuw has already completed his first kilometers as a driver in the Dakar Rally. It was a ride with mixed feelings, during the prologue in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. He had a flat tire, which cost him five minutes. “But at least the head is off.”

In the days before the prologue, Marnix looked calm. He visited fellow countryman Tim Coronel, who is a mentor to him, received tips from five-time Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and met his role model Stéphane Peterhansel, the Frenchman who won the Dakar Rally eight times in a car and six times on a motorcycle. Furthermore, he tried to enjoy the enormous circus called the Dakar Rally.

A rollercoaster of emotions
As relaxed as he was in the bivouac (a city built up for the rally, ed.), he was so tense on the podium the day before yesterday. Traditionally, every year the youngest driver must read a statement in which, among other things, he indicates that he complies with the rules. “There were quite a few difficult English words,” says a laughing Marnix. Who ended the speech for hundreds of attendees with a real ‘houdoe’.

Last year, Marnix made his debut in the Dakar Rally as a navigator in a buggy. Because the prologue is exciting on Saturday afternoon, after putting on his racing suit and giving high-fives to teammates and mechanics, he receives a big hug from his father: Marc Leeuw. He rode the Dakar Rally four times and is now in Saudi Arabia to support his son.

But Marnix did not remain in suspense for long. At the start in Yanbu the switch was turned and it was time to hit the ground running. The first 11 kilometers of the prologue went well, but then one of the tires failed. “We had practiced changing a tire in advance and now it had to be done straight away in the prologue. It took us about 5.30 minutes, which is quite fast.”

Looking back on his ride
Marnix managed to finish the remaining 11 kilometers satisfactorily, with a 40th place as a result. “It was a prologue that left me with mixed feelings. We were driving at a nice pace and then the flat tire happened, which really bummed me out. I have no idea where we would have ended up otherwise, but there’s nothing we can do to change it. In any case, the head is off.”

Over the next two weeks there will be a great challenge for Marnix, navigator Marco Siemons from Mierlo and mechanic Bert van Donkelaar. “We are going to do everything we can to achieve our goal and that is to complete the Dakar Rally. Our team is looking forward to it. Very much looking forward to it.”