After spending the last eight years with Czech manufacturers, Aleš Loprais has switched to IVECO for the Rallye du Maroc and 2025 Dakar Rally. He will drive an IVECO PowerStar prepared by Team de Rooy under the InstaTrade Loprais Team De Rooy FPT banner.
Loprais had long been associated with Tatra thanks to his late uncle Karel, with whom he made his Dakar début in 2006, before racing with Praga from 2020 to 2024 with a best finish of second in the Truck category at the latest edition. Even then, he is no stranger to IVECO or the de Rooys as he entered the 2016 Dakar with them, only to retire after the first stage.
While his Praga, nicknamed “Lady”, has been reliable and fast, Loprais is reluctant about modifying the truck to comply with new FIA rules for 2025. Such a process can take years to perfect, which was unappealing for someone in the prime of his career. Loprais led the 2023 Dakar before withdrawing due to a fatal accident, then broke through with the runner-up in 2024.
He hopes to continue racing Lady at other events like the Morocco Desert Challenge and Africa Eco Race.
“We would need to make extensive modifications to the truck according to new regulations, including reducing its weight,” Loprais explained. “More important, in order to be at the top, we would have to completely overhaul the fuel injection system from a pump-jet to common rail, which most of our rivals use. That would take at least three to four years of expensive development, ideally with factory support. While that would be interesting, at this point in my career, I don’t want to spend my best racing years experimenting at Dakar instead of using my experience to achieve the results I’ve dreamed of.
“I would like to thank the Praga car company for several years of generous support and wonderful mutual relations, which do not change even now when we are each going in different directions. I wish them, with all my heart, that their Praga Bohema hypercar succeeds in the world of supercars.”
A reunion with Tatra was briefly entertained but Loprais noted “we couldn’t reach an agreement for now.” Team de Rooy reached out to him during negotiations, explaining they were willing to build him a new truck. The Dutch outfit entered three trucks at the 2024 Dakar for defending winner Janus van Kasteren (finished fourth), Michiel Becx (fifth), and Anja Van Loon (twelfth), and also have an alliance with Eurol Rally Sport, whose Mitchel van den Brink joined Loprais on the podium via a third.
The new partnership also comes with a team overhaul as David Křípal replaces Jaroslav Valtr Jr. as co-driver while Bernard der Kinderen takes over from Jiří Stross as mechanic. Křípal had been the navigator in the Ultimate class for Tomáš Ouředníček, who finished thirty-ninth at the 2024 Dakar, while der Kinderen served the same role for Loprais at the 2015 Rallye du Maroc and 2016 Dakar.
“After this year’s Dakar, I seriously considered taking a break from racing to focus on other activities,” Křípal began. “Aleš made me an offer, and it was one of the few options related to Dakar that still appealed to me.
“It doesn’t scare me at all. On the contrary, I’m excited. With a car, I already knew what to expect and what would be enough, but I have no idea what to expect from the truck so I have to step out of my comfort zone and really work hard on endurance, strengthening my core, back, and neck. I’m approaching my preparations as if it were my first Dakar. I think my physical and mental preparation is now on a completely different level compared to the past few years.”
The trio will begin driving their new PowerStar in the Netherlands in late September before heading to Morocco for further testing. The Rallye du Maroc is scheduled for 6–11 October, while the 2025 Dakar Rally runs on 3–17 January. InstaTrade Loprais Team will also field a restored Tatra 815 Puma, with which Karel Loprais won the Dakar three times at the turn of the millennium, at the adjacent Dakar Classic.
