After a wildly successful Dakar Classic in 2026, DAF de Rooy Classics is looking to build upon that success next year. Team owner Gerard de Rooy sent out a hiring bulletin on Tuesday that expressed plans of fielding “several vintage DAFs” in the 2027 Classic.

“Team De Rooy is looking for extra hands for our Classics,” de Rooy stated. “We’re seeking people with technical knowledge and who are passionate about DAFs.”

Founded in 2024, DAF de Rooy Classics is the vintage racing arm of Team de Rooy. Unlike the main program, which competes in the Dakar Rally with IVECO (winning this year’s edition courtesy of Vaidotas Žala), the classic division restores and races the DAF trucks that team founder Jan de Rooy drove throughout his Paris–Dakar days.

For the 2026 Dakar Classic, de Rooy Classics partnered with Kamena Rally Team to field the Bull, a legendary DAF 3300 that Jan drove in 1985. Tomasz Białkowski impressed as he won Stage 3, becoming the first truck driver to beat everyone including the cars for a Dakar stage win, and went on to score a top-ten overall finish in ninth.

The ninth was far and away the best outing for a truck in the Classic’s history, and a massive step up from when the Bull placed 70th in 2025 with Janus van Kasteren Sr. The next closest truck in the overall finished 28th.

Many of de Rooy’s other DAFs remain in the collection and available for rent, such as the “Two-Headed Monster” 3300 which he ran in 1984. Boucou Compétition also has de Rooy’s former Gauloises CF 85 from 2002–2003, which finished eighth for trucks in January’s Classic with Vivien Bertrand.

Inquiries can be made to dakar@derooy.com.

Featured image credit: Aurélien Vialatte / ASO