• Daf Trucks' twinengined TurboTwin H still holds a commanding
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lead in the truck category of the Paris-Dakar Rally — despite getting stuck in sand during the latest stage.
On Monday, the TurboTwin, driven by Jan de Rooy, was the fourth vehicle to cross the finishing line at the end of the 571 km Atar to Nouadhihou stage — enough to keep it in 12th place overall — De Rooy remains in the top slot in the truck class ahead of Loprais.
During this latest stage, several competitors suffered from punctures. The TurboTwin, however, escaped with its tyres intact, and even had time to haul overall leader An Vatanen out of a sand bank.
Soon after, de Rooy was also temporarily bogged down but still managed to keep his massive 14-hour lead ahead of the nearest heavy truck competitor.
The next 716 km Nouadhibou-to-Richard Toll stage runs along the coast. The official road is closed to all traffic at the moment, so competitors will have to find the way themselves. Stragglers could face problems when the tide comes in.
D Record deliveries of 16,003 vehicles (14,130 in
1985), and a significantly improved net profit of over 33 million Dutch Florins (£10.8 million), made 1986 a good year for Dal Trucks. Dafs average market share in Western Europe for vehicles of nine tonnes and above rose from 6.8% to 7.3%, while production increased by 8.5% to a total of 15,600units.