Picture the scene: you are at the wheel of a Porsche 911 for your first-ever rally, about to embark on a whirlwind of emotions with your father alongside you as navigator. That alone would be an experience of a lifetime, but add the Dakar Rally into the equation and you’ve got an altogether unique scenario.
But that’s exactly what Puck Klaassen did last year, participating in the Dakar Classic category of the rally raid in Saudi Arabia, after a mere three months of preparation.
A former equestrian show jumper and motocross rider in her youth, Klaassen is no stranger to competition, but the veritable dive into the deep end of the rally raid world was something that neither Puck nor her dad Sebastiaan could have prepared for.
“I was racing motocross nationally in South Africa and did a bit of BMX in America, but I wasn’t really getting the results I wanted and didn’t know if I wanted to continue with motocross in the future,” begins Klaassen.
“Then, in the 2023 season I injured myself and was like: ‘what else can I do until I get better?’.
“I was in Switzerland with my dad; his family friend was selling his Dakar car and was talking all about it and [my dad] was hooked on the idea. He asked me if I wanted to do it and I was like: ‘of course!’ but it was a bit stressful because we only had three months until the Dakar and I had no car experience, so it was a bit scary.”
You’d think that most people with no experience of rallying, let alone the Dakar Rally, would give themselves as much time as possible to prepare for the biggest adventure of their lives.
But that’s not the Klaassen. At least, that isn’t the Klaassens anymore.
Klaassen and her father have already struck up a fantastic bond within the car
“Usually, I overthink these sorts of things, but I didn’t really have time to think; we were busy organizing and the closer the Dakar got; I was like: ‘this is quite crazy’,” admits Klaassen.
“Normally, I would want to plan it for the following year, but we decided just to do it as soon as we could.”
Klaassen’s relationship with motorsport goes back to her childhood, racing go-karts before getting into motocross. At 12 years old, motocross fell by the wayside as she followed her two sisters into horse riding, which dominated the next six years of her life.
“I didn’t touch a motorbike for six years, and everyone was riding in the dunes, so I joined in and realized that I loved it, so I decided to start motocross again!
“And then I was doing both, but I realized that I couldn’t do equestrian and motocross at the same time, because I was also at university, so it was a lot.
“In motocross, I wasn’t really getting the results I wanted because a six-year gap, especially between 12 and 18, is quite big and those are really the crucial years in motocross, and I didn’t know if I wanted to continue with it.
“I had always had a passion for cars but likewise, I didn’t really know how to get into it before we bought the car.”
Klaassen's first steps into competition were on two wheels
After rediscovering her love for motorized sports and taking the plunge into the Dakar with her father, it was all hands-on deck to get ready for the jump into the unknown.
The Klaassens got their hands on a 38-year-old Porsche 911 with which they entered the Dakar Classic category, reserved for cars built prior to 1999.
A regularity discipline rather than a timed race class, the Dakar Classic has been a popular feature of the Dakar Rally since 2021. It’s a nod to the past, giving a new lease of life to vintage vehicles such as the Porsche 959 or the Volkswagen Iltis of the early 1980s or Jan de Rooy’s iconic DAF double cab truck, but also an opportunity for crews to experience the thrill of the Dakar without having to necessarily break the bank in the process.
“It’s not a proper original one, but it is a 1986 built replica of Jacky Ickx’s car he raced on the Dakar,” explains Klaassen.
“So, the guy we bought the car from, he bought it already made, but they did all the rebuild and we got it in proper Dakar-spec, as it had done two Dakars before. It wasn’t the first time it had done the Dakar, so that was quite nice because in three months we couldn’t have done much to it anyway.
“Going into the event, I obviously didn’t know what to expect, I still had to familiarize myself with the rules and every day we were learning something new.
“It was an incredible experience, but I definitely missed the racing element of the event. Quite often, my dad was like: ‘Puck, slow down,’ and I didn’t really like that.
“Our goal each day was just to finish, and the car was very much on its last legs so that was tough. The suspension hadn’t been serviced all Dakar; the chassis was literally starting to crack as well so I just had to be very cautious to bring the car home.
“I learned loads by doing that, but I missed actually racing.”
Alongside her dad, Klaassen reached the finish in Jeddah and, having caught the competitive bug once more, she knew she wanted more.
Barely a month after the end of the Dakar and her first taste of rallying, Klaassen was on the start-line in Abu Dhabi for the second round of the World Rally-Raid Championship, this time in a Taurus T3 Challenger, the tier below the Ultimate T1+ category of cross-country rallying.
“I didn’t really know how to get into it,” admits Klaassen. “The plan was kind of to do the Dakar Classic again, the year after, but we weren’t sure because I didn’t want to jump straight into the championship right away.
“But when we enquired about the Taurus, the manager or whatever said that there was a seat available [Mitch Guthrie was due to race the car] and I didn’t even have an international race license or anything and it was two weeks before the event!
Klaassen's preparation for the Dakar was far from ideal
“Dakar was already quite scary to do but this was another level because I saw the entry list and there were all these top drivers. I was so inexperienced; I didn’t even know how the racing worked, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.
“I thought: ‘let’s get the experience, I’ll come last’ and that’s kind of how it went. There were no expectations, no pressure, I just went to have fun and I actually did quite well.”
Klaassen finished an eye-opening eighth. It was enough for the GRally Team – co-run by X-raid Mini JCW T1+ driver Guillaume de Mévius – to sign Klaassen from the Baja Aragón in the summer.
Two retirements in Desafío Ruta 40 and Rallye du Maroc either side of a 24th place finish in Portugal added to the learning experience, which Klaassen reckons will leave her in good stead heading into her first proper Dakar Rally in ‘race’ conditions next month.
“I didn’t expect to learn as much as I have this year, and Guillaume is super involved also,” says Klaassen. “He would come to all the testing and would sit next to me; I would sit next to him, and he’s very involved in giving me advice and pointers.
“Both Guillaume and his brother [Ghislain] are super modest too, they have always been there, and I have learned so much from them and the team is very, very professional too so that helps a lot with my progression.
“It’s helped me understand that this is what I want to focus on doing now, I definitely see myself trying to get a career, which is something I’ve never really had in the other sports I have done.
“The plan is to do a few years in Challenger and then hopefully move into T1+ one day in the future.”
Driving a classic Porsche is fun, but Puck's eyes are already facing forwards
Whatever experience Klaassen still lacks, she’ll be hoping to gain more Dakar knowledge via her 2025 full-season navigator, ex-Original by Motul (Malle Moto) biker and compatriot Charan Moore.
“Whenever I was watching the Dakar on TV as a kid, I always thought of it as this crazy, crazy experience, and wondered how they managed to do it,” said Klaassen.
“Charan for sure has taught me the most, to have someone who is that experienced next to me, is really important. He also keeps me calm in the car because I lack the experience, and I am still learning. He helps me with that, he knows what he’s doing and it’s nice to know that he has that experience going into Dakar.
“We’ve both got our own jobs; I drive the car and he will navigate, and I just have to trust him with the notes, which I do, so that is really reassuring heading into Dakar.”
Klaassen and Moore will be up against some of the biggest names in the Challenger category when the Dakar Rally kicks off on January 3.
Although the top three from the 2024 edition – Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero, Mitch Guthrie and Rokas Baciuška – have all stepped up to the Ultimate class, the quality remains high.
Among the favorites for victory, is SSV world champion Yasir Seaidan and Argentinian Nicolas Cavigliasso (both BBR Motorsport), while Spanish sensation Pau Navarro and recently crowned FIA Middle East Baja SSV champion, Dania Akeel lead Team BBR’s charge.
