Neither the powerful Russian Kamazs, nor the Germans from Man, nor the legendary Dutchman Gerard De Rooy with his Iveco, the big surprise in trucks is another Iveco driven by three Argentines and led by the experienced Federico ‘Coyote’ Villagra.
Together with Jorge Pérez Companc and Andrés Memi, these three friends embarked on the adventure of competing in the most spectacular category of the Dakar and, after five stages, they are leaders of the general classification to the surprise of their own and others.
The multiple Argentine rally champion accepted the challenge of competing in his third Dakar not in a car as he did in 2014 with a Mini and in 2015 with a Ford Ranger, but this time in command of a Powerstar Iveco, a member of Team De Rooy .
“We knew we had the speed but we had never competed with trucks as strong as the Kamaz and the Man and many top drivers who did not say they were present in Morocco either,” emphasized Villagra in dialogue with EFE in relation to the previous competition that this rookie truck played with a third place in the rally of African lands.
«This is a strange experience because it all started with a joke that we made with Andrés in the medical checks last year and a half I told him how good it would be to run the three of them together. Then we found De Rooy, who is a great team and he accepted the challenge to join the official team after testing us in Morocco, “said Jorge Pérez Companc.
«I have been doing a good rhythm without risking. Walking fast but without making mistakes. The idea arose from a relationship of three friends: Jorge called me and asked me if I was encouraged, with the experience of Andrés, who had already participated in the category, “said ‘Coyote’.
“I think many riders considered me and yesterday the Kamaz team came to make a note to ask me where I came from. But when we decided to compete it was clear that we were going to do it in a top-of-the-line truck, “added Villagra.
“So far we have had a lot of rally road and little cross country. That favors drivers coming from the World Rally, like Loeb. His performance does not surprise me because if he decided to participate in the Dakar it is because he has many hours of testing, a leading-edge car and possibilities of fighting for the title, “he said.
For his part, the businessman Pérez Companc has in his personal track record having been the first Argentine vehicle to finish a Dakar in 2000. «I went with my brother with a standard pickup and a self-supporting truck, to that edition that went from Dakar to Egypt. It was totally crazy because we didn’t know where we were going and the purpose we set ourselves was just to get there ».
The third member of this team, Andrés Memi, was the one who suffered the most from the effects of the altitude: «Both in the Jujuy stage and in this stage that we went up to Uyuni, it was difficult for me to recover. But, luckily, afterwards the doctors managed to recover me quickly.
The Argentine dream travels by truck and to sum up this Dakarian adventure the last words of Pérez Companc are well worth it: «I don’t know what destiny will bring us and if we can make this dream come true, but we will give everything to reach the goal empty and convinced that we have. delivered everything ». After all, dreaming costs nothing.
Truck with Argentine crew surprises the world in the Dakar
