DAF TurboTwin - When Monsters Tried to Takeover The Dakar

Imagine a scene where a Peugeot 405 prototype races through the African desert, driven by rally leader Ari Vatanen. His car drives effortlessly through the desert at about 200 kilometers per hour. This is not surprising, considering the Peugeot's power of 400 horsepower and a weight of only 1,300 kg. But suddenly, the 11-tonne DAF truck catches up with the Peugeot in front, matches its pace and begins to overtake it. In fact, these are real moments from the 1988 Paris-Dakar rally, and this scene has become a timeless classic of the Dakar rally. However, not everyone knows that this iconic moment was followed by tragedy, which led truck manufacturer DAF to abandon motor sport.

Today's Dakar trucks are nowhere near the speeds achieved by the Dutch DAF trucks in the late 1980s. The reasons for this change are explained in today's video.   You often hear about how wonderful it was in the days

when

cars were designed by engineers rather than marketers, and

when

sports were free of restrictions.   And maybe that's true, but we shouldn't forget that complete engineering freedom often leads to tragic consequences. This was the case with the Group B rally cars, and it turned out the same with the crazy DAF TURBO TWIN truck. Trucks have been part of the Dakar rally since its first marathon in 1978-79, which followed the classic route from Paris to the capital of Senegal.

Among the 12 trucks that set off were some quite unusual vehicles, such as the Austrian Pinzgauer military off-roader. The competition in those years was semi-professional and the technical requirements were very open. In the first Dakar there was no division into separate categories for trucks, cars and motorcycles, but the majority of participants were motorcyclists. This is not surprising, since the marathon organizer, Thierry Sabine, was also a motorcycle racer and came up with the Paris-Dakar after getting lost on his motorcycle in the Libyan desert.  However, over time, cars and trucks increased their presence in the Dakar, surpassing motorcycles in both speed and number.

  In 1981, a Dutch truck called DAF, based on the 1800 series model, joined the Dakar rally. It bore the inscription "Mighty Mac" on the side, which could be seen as a good-natured Dutch joke, since there was nothing powerful about this model. Not only was it one of the smallest in its class, but it also had an engine of just 160 horsepower.  At the wheel of the truck was Toine van Vliet.   Unfortunately, the debut was overshadowed by the injury of co-pilot Henk Thijssen, who broke his arm after a failed landing. This marked the end of the race for the "Mighty Mac."   The following year, two DAF trucks based on the 2800 model entered the race.

Now with a front-engine design. The trucks had somewhat peculiar proportions, a 310-horsepower engine and, most importantly, a nickname: "The Nose." At the wheel of one of them was Jan de Rooy, who gave the brand its first podium by placing third in its debut year.   Since the late 1960s, De Rooy had a passion for rallycross and competed in these races with small-displacement DAF cars. Specifically for De Rooy, DAF engineers built a mid-engine, all-wheel drive prototype called the DAF 555, with which Jan and his brother Harry dominated their competitors. Jan de Rooy was not a poor man; His family owned a business that transported equipment throughout Europe, using DAF trucks for these purposes.

Therefore, it is not surprising that when De Rooy set out to conquer the Dakar at the wheel of a truck, he simply could not make his debut driving a vehicle from another brand. But let's fast forward a couple of years after his debut and jump straight to the most interesting part.   In 1984, a twin-engine DAF truck joined the Dakar rally, with a combined power of 700 horsepower. However, what made it stand out was not only its power but also its unconventional design. Yes, this truck had two cabs and earned the nickname "Two-Headed Monster." From that moment on, the madness of the DAF engineers could not be stopped.

The following year they abandoned the two-cab design to save weight, but continued with the twin-engine design, increasing power each year. In the end, the DAF TURBO TWIN truck with side-by-side engines generating 1,000 horsepower participated in the start of the Paris-Dakar rally in 1986.   If you still think that Group B rally cars were the craziest technology in the 80s, then the DAF Dakar trucks have something to say about it.  The second version of the TURBO TWIN finally allowed De Rooy to win the Dakar truck category in '87. Second place, Tatra driver Karel Loprais, lost to Jan by 14 and a half hours.

It's also worth noting that De Rooy finished 11th overall! For the following year, 1988, DAF had prepared two new versions of the TURBO TWIN, known as X1 and X2. Both were equipped with two diesel engines, each with three turbochargers, producing 600 horsepower each, adding up to a whopping 1,200 horsepower for this "hell" truck. Rumors suggested that the DAF could reach a top speed of 240 kilometers per hour. There was no doubt that with such firepower, the Dutch team would easily win the Dakar in the truck category and, furthermore, with such a fast truck, they could easily compete for a high position in the overall race classification.

  The 1988 Dakar rally was marked by several peculiar stories. For example, during one of the overnight stops in Mali, Peugeot team boss Jean Todt received a very strange call stating that Ari Vatanen's Peugeot 405 rally car had been hijacked and could only be returned to the team for 25 million. of dollars. . This was possible because the rally cars were parked at a local stadium during the night stops and were not heavily guarded.   Jean Todt decided not to pay the ransom and started looking for the car. Finally, the car was found abandoned a few kilometers from the abduction site. Despite a long delay, Ari Vatanen managed to continue the race.

However, under pressure from the president of the motorsport federation, Jean-Marie Balestre, he was eventually disqualified. However, according to another credible version, the entire hijacking story was orchestrated by the Peugeot team itself, which secretly wanted to replace the rally car's engine.   As for the DAF team, during the prologue, both Jan de Rooy's and Theo van de Rijt's trucks had their right front wheel detached from the disc. This was unusual, but it turned out that the right front wheel would become one of the catalysts for the coming tragedy. Apart from the tire problems, the marathon initially went perfectly for the Dutch team.

Jan de Rooy raced his DAF X1 to another victory among the trucks, emitting clouds of black smoke. His truck couldn't consistently keep up with the lighter rally cars, but on the long desert straights, he challenged the best. In the general classification of the race, De Rooy took eighth position and on January 7 he set a sixth record in a special stage, surpassing most of his rivals in his cars. Unfortunately, this turned out to be DAF's last success. On the morning of January 8, the X2 truck driven by Theo van de Rijt started another special. The DAF sailed through the desert at 160-170 kilometers per hour until reaching a section with small dunes.

On the first two dunes, it took off and landed on all four wheels, but on the third, the DAF suddenly flew with a slight tilt and crashed its right front wheel into the ground. After impact, the truck somersaulted, completing six full rotations before coming to a stop in the sand. Accidents even worse than this have occurred in rally raid and classic rallies, and the crew has emerged unscathed. Of course, the DAF was equipped with a standard roll cage, designed to protect lives in any impact. However, one absolutely monstrous design decision ruined everything. The seat belts, to which all crew members were securely fastened, were not attached to the roll cage but directly to the seats.

Unfortunately, during impact, this caused the seats to come loose from their mounts. Driver Theo van de Rijt and mechanic Chris Ross remained in the cockpit and suffered serious injuries, while co-pilot Kees van Loevezijn was ejected and died instantly.   Following this tragedy, DAF management immediately withdrew the rest of Jan de Rooy's team from the race and announced his departure from motor sport. The Dakar organizers also banned the T4 group trucks, which were too fast and dangerous. DAF returned to the Dakar many years later, in 2003. Jan de Rooy, together with his son, led the initiative. However, it was a completely different era, with different trucks.

The speed of modern Dakar trucks is forcibly limited to 140 kilometers per hour. Most likely, without this limiter, they could easily match or even surpass the DAF TURBO TWIN. Modern trucks are not much weaker in terms of power and their suspension has advanced significantly compared to the 80s. However, it is currently not allowed to remove this limiter during competitions. But considering how the story of the crazy DAF TURBO TWIN ended, maybe it's for the best.