Trucks have been surprising from many points of view this year and all for good. First of all, the race is extremely tight at the top which always gains a lot of good publicity and increases the number of fans and secondly the fight between Kamaz, Tatra and Iveco has brought the colour of the trucks that the sport really needs. What I’ve always liked about the Trucks in Dakar and know other fans have also it to witness another great battle between the names: De Rooy and Loprais! This time around, the battle is between the younger generation. After one week of racing, Gerard De Rooy leads the Trucks with his Iveco while Ales Loprais is second, just 17 minutes behind in his Tatra. Third is the last African edition winner of the Dakar, who is also in a de Rooy team Iveco, Hans Stacey is 33 minutes behind. One of the surprises in the Trucks has been the trouble seen by the Russian Kamaz team through they do hold positions 4th to 6th and in the past Kamaz has been very reliable and again they are; but compared to De Rooy and Loprais, it seems to lack a bit of speed. Tough stages of Chile are made for the Kamaz liking and we might see them get back into the top 3 to mount a challenge.
http://www.motorsport.com/dakar/news/reflection-of-the-first-part-of-the-dakar-2012-event/