Day of mourning for the motor world. The great legend of trucks, Jan de Rooy, died today at the age of 80as his own family announced through a statement.
“After a very short illness, our father, husband and grandfather passed away peacefully and reunited with our great love, Annie. He lived to be 80 years old. “He was dedicated to the De Rooy transport company for 65 years, which celebrated its centenary last year,” the family statement said.
Nicknamed “the bear” he was born in Eindhoven on February 19, 1943, at a time when Europe was still in the final stages of World War II. His love of racing began as a youngster in rallycross. He won several national titles and rose to fame in Europe.
De Rooy made his first appearance in a Dakar in 1982in the truck category, with the DAF brand, the Dutch truck brand par excellence. His first involvement with DAF is immediately rewarded with a breakthrough in its category. In 1987got the pilot his second victory.
In 1988, Jan was third in the overall standings, but his teammate Theo van de Rijt had a bad accident on a dune and Kees van Loevezijn –copilot– ejected and died. The team withdrew from the race and DAF cut the project short. De Rooy was disheartened by the tragedy and It was only in 2002 when he returned to Dakar, influenced by the insistence of his son Gerard, who continued the family legacy by winning the 2012 and 2016 Dakar with the Iveco brand.
Rest in peace.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
