Astronaut André Kuipers makes rally debut in MDC

He had already been involved in a rally from the sidelines, but André Kuipers did not yet drive himself. In the Morocco Desert Challenge, the astronaut, doctor and speaker make his debut as a rally driver.

Kuipers is part of the Dutch Hamer Rally Team and will drive a Toyota Landcruiser. When team owner Fons Jans invited Kuipers to come along in the MDC he was immediately enthusiastic, but he did state a condition: the whole team would start using biofuel: Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, in short HVO diesel.

“This is not customary within rallying, but the Hamer Rally Team took on this challenge,” says Kuipers, who watched the earth from space twice. “As an astronaut I have seen how vulnerable our earth is, with the wafer-thin atmosphere, deforestation and air pollution. That is why one of my goals is to make people aware of it so that they take better care of our planet. The developments in the field of alternative fuels and additives are going fast. We would like to show that this step can now be taken.”