Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar, with the Toyota Hilux from the Belgian Overdrive Racing, are set to take part in Qatar Cross-Country Rally, starting in Doha on Tuesday, 18th April. Van Loon aims for a top five result in the event, while not ruling out a podium finish.
The entry list of Qatar Cross- Country Rally is very competitive with four Toyotas, four Minis and one Peugeot. “We have to be prepared! I think we belong to the top five here, but this is Qatar. There strange things can happen, but with the luck at our side, we can suddenly find ourselves on the podium.”
Van Loon doesn’t have the nicest memories of Qatar: “Last time we drove here, Wouter and I had our heaviest crash. Due to a strange pacenote we were a bit off track and we arrived too early at a levelled cross-over where the car got launched and we went airborne and rolled a couple of times. We don’t want that again! The rally will be long with 1372 timed kilometres in five days.”
The checks will take place on Monday, April 17th, followed by a short prologue of 5.5 kilometres on Tuesday. The serious stages in the desert are driven from Wednesday until Saturday, all of them longer than 330 kilometres. Van Loon and Rosegaar will start with number 208 on the Toyota.