Dutch Dakar-Veteran and Baja Deutschland winner Johan Elfrink and his team - better known for their Mercedes "Finstral" racing trucks Axxor, Actros and Unimog - will be back in motorsports this year: With a new truck and the new team-name "All Star Rally". Instead of the Dakar Rally in South America, the team is to start at the Africa Eco Race in Monaco, Morocco, Mauretania and Senegal end of December 2017.

Last Friday the new Mercedes-Benz Zetros racetruck from Johan Elfrink has been unveiled. Despite the winter weather, more than 500 interested people found their way to the presentation at Mercedes-Benz Zwolle in Holland.

After a presentation of the new Mercedes X-Class pickup and a retrospective of the Dakar history of Elfrink and his team, the moment has finally come: The unveiling of the new "Dakar weapon" with a big show. "To have so many people here beeing interested in what we were working for in the last months is very impressive," Johan Elfrink said after the Event.

One speciality of the new truck: It has 'Body Impact Protection' (BIP). This means that shock absorbers are mounted under the seats. These absorbers absorb the energy with a large impact, such as a crash, causing the person to suffer less.

Some more features are the new-invented cooling-system. The air is led over the roof, behind the cabin and back to the engine, which also allows an air-condition for the driver and codriver inside the truck. Another innovation is a tire-cutting system, which protects more in case of a blowing tire and fasten the time for changing a wheel.

Overall, the team worked mostly with only original Mercedes-Benz parts. This ensures that everything is functioning as once as thought. This also contributes to extra safety for the occupants, for example due to the known safety systems such as ABS and ASR.

Photos: ALLSTARRALLY.NL

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