CAN-AM

A man who loves a challenge

Kees Koolen started out in rally-raid with the Dakar in 2009. A man who loves a challenge, he invented his own championship: that consisted of becoming the first competitor to have participated in the Dakar in all categories: motorcycles, cars, quads, trucks and finally SSVs in 2021. Last year, Kees participated in the FIA World Cup before taking a final 6th place in Jeddah in the category with South Racing. For 2022, the Dutchman has set himself a new challenge. That of becoming the first to race a completely "green" truck. In line with the objectives set by A.S.O. for a 100% eco-responsible Dakar by 2030 "2030 Project" was on display on "Nicias" for the 2022 Dakar. If the Dutchman's Iveco was not yet able to reduce its emissions, it is because Kees decided only a few weeks before the Dakar to go and test a truck fromthe Czech team Big Shock Racing. It was at the wheel of one of Martin Macik's trucks, transformed into a research platform for tomorrow's mobility solutions, that "Doucle K" entered the W2RC alongside Wouter de Graaff and Gijs van Uden. For the third round of the championship, Paolo Ceci, an ex Italian motorcyclist turned co-driver in T4 will make his debut in a truck cab as a replacement for the latter. A partnership that will embark on a technological marathon of eight seasons, certainly the most daring of the challenges so far taken up by the Dutchman..