Last Saturday, Chris Ross and some friends rode by motorcycle from England to Eindhoven to check out the DAF Museum. While there, he got to reconnect with his old comrade Theo van de Rijt.

The two raced the Paris–Dakar Rally together in 1988 in the DAF TurboTwin X2 that supported Jan de Rooy’s X1. Ross served as mechanic while Van de Rijt handled driving duties, with Kees van Loevezijn as the navigator. Van de Rijt had previously been in the cockpit with de Rooy as they won the 1987 race in the Truck class. The year before that, he and van Loevezijn drove a Land Rover service vehicle for the DAF team; the Land Rover is currently on exhibit at the DAF Museum until September.

Tragically, their race ended with a rollover while going 112 mph in Stage 8. Van Loevezijn was thrown from the truck and killed instantly. Van de Rijt and Ross survived with serious injuries. The accident was so catastrophic that DAF immediately ended its factory rally program and later sold the assets to Team de Rooy, while the Truck category was banned from the 1989 Dakar.

Over the next four decades, van de Rijt and Ross still kept in touch. Both have since retired, though van de Rijt now volunteers at the museum. After having some tea, the two sat together in the DAF X1 on display before taking a group photo.

“Next year, I’ll come back to the museum with my son,” Ross said.

Featured image credit: DAF Museum