Posted by Allison Transmission-powered trucks once again dominated the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, as Team De Rooy secured a one-two finish in this year’s Truck category. Held from January 3 to 17, the 2026 rally route covered approximately 8,000 km in total, with around 5,000 km of timed special stages.
With the trucks competing across the Kingdom’s vast deserts and rugged terrain, the rally tested endurance, precision, and consistency at the highest level, allowing Allison’s transmissions to once again demonstrate their proven reliability and performance in one of the toughest motorsport environments in the world.
Emphasising Allison’s leadership in high-performance transmission systems, nine of the top ten finishing trucks in the Truck category were powered by Allison fully automatic transmissions, including both vehicles fielded by Team De Rooy. This dominant presence at the top of the leaderboard highlights Allison’s continued role as the drivetrain of choice for elite rally teams.
Team De Rooy competed with two Iveco Powerstar trucks equipped with Allison 4000 Series™ fully automatic transmissions. Built for demanding, heavy-duty applications, the transmissions delivered uninterrupted power, smooth shifting, and precise control across deep sand dunes, rocky tracks, and long-distance desert stages. This consistent performance enabled the team to maintain competitive pace throughout the two-week rally while minimising mechanical stress and driver fatigue.
At the heart of this success is Allison’s Continuous Power Technology™, which eliminates power interruption during gear changes and ensures smooth, uninterrupted torque delivery to the wheels. In rally raid competition, this translates into improved traction, enhanced vehicle control, and reduced physical and mental fatigue, and represents critical advantages in multi-stage endurance racing.
“The Dakar Rally is one of the world’s toughest motorsport competitions, pushing competitors across some of the most demanding off-road terrain in the Middle East, where success depends on absolute trust in their equipment,” said Berk Gönenç, Sales director, Türkiye, Middle East and CIS: “Allison once again proved its reliability and performance, giving drivers the confidence to push hard in the most challenging conditions.”
Allison’s strong performance at Dakar 2026 highlights its relevance to real-world operations in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, where vehicles regularly operate in extreme heat, sand, and remote environments. From construction and logistics to oil and gas and public transportation, Allison transmissions are trusted by regional operators who rely on proven durability, reliability, and long-term performance in some of the toughest driving conditions in the world.
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