December 11, 2006
Internationality counts: Team MAXDATA Mercedes-Benz in the 2007 Dakar Rally
German-French duo with racing driver Ellen Lohr and co-driver Antonia de Roissard
Main sponsor PRAMAC has its headquarters in Italy
The service car fleet ? Actros 6x6, Unimog U400 and Viano 4Matic ? comes from global player DaimlerChrysler
Slovenian team in the race-Unimog
Rally-prototype based on the Mercedes-Benz M-Class like in the debut year 2006
Team presentation in the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau
With an international line-up in the team MAXDATA Mercedes-Benz, Ellen Lohr will be starting in Lisbon on January 6 for the 2007 Dakar Rally. Drivers, cars and sponsors of the team for the Dakar Rally were officially announced today during the team presentation in the Unimog Museum in the German city of Gaggenau. French lady Antonia de Roissard, a very experienced co-driver in cross-country rallying, will be in the hot seat alongside Germany?s most successful all-round racing driver. Like in the team?s debut year 2006, the rally-prototype with which the duo will be taking on the world?s toughest desert rally, is based on the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. The DaimlerChrysler service car fleet is also well-tested with the Actros 6x6, the Unimog U400 in competition version and the Viano 4Matic van. The Unimog will be driven by a team from Slovenia.
The other partners for the project are international as well. The new main sponsor PRAMAC has its headquarters in Siena in Italy and ranks among the world?s leading companies for power generators. The ?truckdrive? organisation, a member of the international CARAT group, has made a name for itself in the truck parts business. German hardware manufacturer, MAXDATA, based in Marl, Germany, is enjoying success all over Europe and is entering into its second year as a partner of the team.
The goal for the 2007 rally: crossing the finish podium in Dakar
?Our goal for the 2007 Dakar is clear?, says Ellen Lohr. ?We want to cross the podium twice, both at the start in Lisbon and at the finish in Dakar on January 20.? In the debut year 2006, Lohr retired on the twelfth of 15 days and as the last German lady taking part, a belated effect of an accident that wasn?t her fault. At the same time, the racing Unimog became a victim of its own talents as a recovery car: as it had helped another competitor first and then made way to Ellen Lohr, it exceeded the time limit for the stage and was disqualified. Ellen Lohr: ?In January 2006, we arrived in Dakar after 9,000 kilometres with all the cars of the team and we covered three quarters of the total distance in our debut event while still in competition. That made us proud.? After all, only 70 of almost 190 competitors in the car category made it to the finish in the 2006 Dakar Rally.
After taking part in the desert rally at the beginning of this year, former DTM driver Ellen Lohr has discovered one thing in particular: In the Dakar Rally, service decides on at least 50 percent of the success. Therefore, the Unimog U400 will once again act as a rolling spare parts warehouse next year. Slovenians Janez Slavko and Darko Goriup will be taking part in the rally with the task of being at hand as quickly as possible when Lohr and de Roissard are having problems. Competitors are allowed to help each other during the rally. The Actros 6x6 is again the team?s central work shop at the major service points. In 2006 already, DaimlerChrysler?s flagship ran reliably over the partly torturous tracks with stones, soft sand and river beds, just like the Viano 4Matic.
The Dakar Rally will be starting in Lisbon on January 6, 2007 and will end after 15 days and almost 9,000 kilometres in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The rally will take competitors through Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Mauretania, Mali and Senegal.
