2023 saw the Dakar Rally taking place for 45th time and for the fourth time in its history this prestigious event was hosted by the country of Saudi Arabia. The rally started on 31 December 2022, about 300 km north of Jeddah near Yanbu at a so-called "Sea Camp" on the Red Sea and ended on 15 January 2023 in Dammam on the Persian Gulf covering 9000 kilometres of sand, gravel and water. For the DDW Rally Team from the Netherlands it was the second time they joined the Dakar Rally, the most difficult rally in the world.
In total 409 participants, consisting of 159 cars, 139 motorbikes, 55 trucks, 18 quads and 92 side-by-sides embarked on this adventure, which - according to the participants - was the toughest Dakar Rally in years.
Jord von Ettekoven, from the DDW team always kept us updated on his team’s performance and that of our springs, of course: "On behalf of the whole rally team, I can really say that everyone is very happy with the performance of the springs. In other years, all 4 springs were changed every three to four days, depending on the expectations for the next stage. This meant a lot of work each time, as the truck obviously had to be in as good a condition as possible to start the next stage. This time, however, only the third leaf of one spring broke and this only on the 10th stage, which is nothing short of a miracle considering that the 2023 Dakar Rally is being called the toughest rally in years. The springs were tested to their limits on the first 9 stages! What is more, the breakage was not even noticed by the crew when it happened. This was very valuable for the confidence of our crew and a confirmation that the springs last much longer than our previous springs. We are happy and proud of our joint development and achievement!"
SCHOMÄCKER's secret weapon was successfully used by a total of four rally teams this year. More rally teams have since already expressed their interest in SCHOMÄCKER's new spring for extreme use. This proves once again that SCHOMÄCKER stands for quality and durability!
