At the halfway point of the gruelling 2013 Dakar Rally, the Toyota Imperial Team is leading the four-wheel drive, petrol class and is placed third overall. The action resumed yesterday (Monday) in the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucuman after the brave souls of South Africa’s Toyota Imperial Team took in a welcome rest day on Sunday. The rest day and the curtailed eighth day, due to flash flooding, brought to an end the first week of the world’s longest and toughest motorsport race.
After more than 4 500 km since the start of the 2013 Dakar Rally in Lima, Peru, on January 5th, including over 2 000 kilometres of timed special stages, South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz are placed third overall in the general classification in their proudly South African Imperial Toyota Hilux #301.
Toyota Imperial South Africa team principal, Glyn Hall, is pleased with the South African led performance so far, but he’s well aware of the daunting challenges the remaining 4 500 km have in store. Sunday’s rest day provided an opportunity for some reflection on the week that lay ahead. “We’ve already completed the equivalent of five rounds of the South African off-road championship in a week. Although we’ve worked through a busy schedule of stripping, checking and replacing components, we have had less work than last time.”
“The new evolution Hilux has had no problems apart from a small issue with the brakes overheating early in the race and this was quickly fixed. It’s a much better vehicle and is the result of all that we have learnt in last year’s Dakar and in testing during the year, including running in the final round of the South African championship. Giniel is very happy with the new Hilux and has made an invaluable contribution to its development,” Hall said.
De Villiers had this to say about what the rest of the 2013 Dakar had in store for him and his Toyota Hilux: “It’s too early to make predictions. This applies equally one kilometre before the finish of the Dakar. Expect the unexpected. This time we have achieved a lot and are proud of our third place, but we have not won anything yet. Some long and tough days still lie ahead. I believe, though, that we are well prepared.”
As of the halfway point rest stop, the general classification after eight stages is: Peterhansel and Cottret lead in their Mini Countryman; in 2nd is the Qatari/Spanish combination of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Lucas Cruz, 3 min 14 sec behind in their Red Bull Buggy; De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz are in 3rd, 44 min 3 sec behind, in the Imperial Toyota Hilux.
Yesterday’s mammoth special stage nine, from San Miguel de Tucuman to Cordoba, is the longest of the 2013 event. It is a marathon test over 533 km and is split into two parts with liaison sections leading into both. A dry day would’ve seen a high-speed race over a torturous route in the first half, with the second half being much more technical with forests and lots of bends. For the Toyota Imperial Team, ‘caution’ is likely to have been the watchword on stage nine.
Dakar Update:
During the treacherous eighth stage, Peterhansel in his Mini increased his overall lead in the rally to 49 min 31 sec. Good news for the Toyota Imperial South African team is that Giniel De Villiers moved up to second place in the overall rankings, by placing a solid fifth in the stage. This after Nasser Al-Attiyah, who trailed Peterhansel’s Mini by only 3 min 14 sec after eight stages, suffered several mechanical breakdowns, including one just a few km from the finish. De Villiers is now 49 min 31 sec behind the rally leader Peterhansel.
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