Stage 11, a.okay.a. Marathon Stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally noticed opponents race away from the bivouac at Shaybah, within the southeastern a part of Saudi Arabia, to a distant bivouac within the Empty Quarter. The opponents don’t have any technical assist on the distant bivouac, and must have an effect on any repairs wanted to their automobiles themselves. However, all three TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews reported clean runs of their GR DKR Hilux T1+ race automobiles, bringing a sigh of reduction to the whole crew.
Marathon Stage performances
The quickest of the TGR crews over the 275km-long Stage 11 was general race leaders, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel. The defending champions had been 5th-fastest on the day, trailing the stage winners by simply 6min 42sec. Their lead over the second-placed crew is at present 1hr 21min 04sec, with three phases remaining on this yr’s race.
Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings continued their good kind on Stage 11, recording one other faultless stage. The pair are in fourth place general, and relinquished 7min 22sec to the winners on the stage right down to the distant bivouac within the Empty Quarter. Their deficit to the leaders is 1hr 49min 17sec, and they’re inside 19min of a podium place, regardless of shedding vital time with a damaged damper earlier within the rally.
The closing TGR pairing of Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy had been suffering from punctures earlier within the race, however now that the terrain has develop into sandier, they’ve been recording clean phases. On the stage to the Empty Quarter, they went 6th-fastest, 10min 04sec behind the stage winners. They stay in 5th general, 2hr 14min 18sec behind Nasser and Mathieu.
Next up is Stage 12, which can see the opponents return to the Shaybah bivouac by way of a timed part of 185. There will even be a closing liaison of 167km, becoming a member of the tip of the stage to the encampment.
For TGR, all three GR DKR Hilux T1+ race automobiles have now accomplished greater than 7,000 kilometres, with only a few technical challenges. Notably, the usual 3.5 litre twin-turbo V6 engine from the brand new Toyota Land Cruiser 300 has remained totally dependable regardless of the intense terrain and circumstances, testimony to the standard, sturdiness and reliability that’s a part of Toyota’s DNA.
Stage 12 is among the three closing phases of the race, with Stage 13 taking the rally from Shaybah to Al-Hofuf. This will probably be adopted by the ultimate stage from Hofuf to the coastal metropolis of Dammam on January 15th, bringing the 45th version of the Dakar Rally to an in depth after 14 powerful phases.
Quotes:
“The great news today is that all three our cars got through the first part of the Marathon Stage without any drama – always a worry at this point in the race. Nasser maintained his lead comfortably, while Henk and Giniel posted solid stage results to hold steady in their respective positions in the overall standings. Next up is the wait to see them back here in the bivouac at Shaybah, following Stage 12.”
Glyn Hall, TGR Dakar Team Principal
“Everything went to plan today for us. We don’t have to push at all, since we have enough time in hand, so the main goal today was to make sure the car is in perfect condition for tomorrow.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah
“There were some tricky dune crossings in the stage, but overall things went okay for us. We just tried to have a clean run and not make any mistakes, and we’re happy to be here at the remote bivouac without any problems.”
Giniel de Villiers
“It was tricky in the dunes, and we decided to take it easy today. We’ve still been learning more about the dunes, so the last few days have been difficult for us, and we expect more of the same for the next few days. We’re just taking it easy and gaining experience at this point.”
Henk Lategan
DAKAR 2023: Stage 11 Results
| POS. | N° | CREW | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION |
| 1 | 201 | (FRA) SEBASTIEN LOEB(BEL) FABIAN LURQUIN | BAHRAIN RAID XTREME | 02H 56′ 14” | |
| 2 | 206 | (FRA) GUERLAIN CHICHERIT(FRA) ALEX WINOCQ | GCK MOTORSPORT | 02H 58′ 30” | + 00H 02′ 16” |
| 3 | 211 | (SWE) MATTIAS EKSTROM(SWE) EMIL BERGKVIST | TEAM AUDI SPORT | 02H 58′ 40” | + 00H 02′ 26” |
| 4 | 230 | (BRA) LUCAS MORAES(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK | OVERDRIVE RACING | 03H 02′ 26” | + 00H 06′ 12” |
| 5 | 200 | (QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux t1+ | 03H 02′ 56” | + 00H 06′ 42” |
| 6 | 217 | (ZAF) HENK LATEGAN(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR dkr hilux t1+ | 03H 03′ 36” | + 00H 07′ 22” |
| 7 | 202 | (SAU) YAZEED AL RAJHI(DEU) DIRK VON ZITZEWITZ | OVERDRIVE RACING | 03H 05′ 07” | + 00H 08′ 53” |
| 8 | 209 | (FRA) MATHIEU SERRADORI(FRA) LOIC MINAUDIER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 03H 06′ 06” | + 00H 09′ 52” |
| 9 | 205 | (ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGgr dkr hilux t1+ | 03H 06′ 18” | + 00H 10′ 04” |
| 10 | 210 | (CZE) MARTIN PROKOP(CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA | ORLEN BENZINA TEAM | 03H 06′ 53” | + 00H 10′ 39” |
DAKAR 2023: Standings after Stage 11
| POS. | N° | CREWS | TEAM | TIME | VARIATION |
| 1 | 200 | (QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux T1+ | 39H 16′ 33” | |
| 2 | 230 | (BRA) LUCAS MORAES(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK | OVERDRIVE RACING | 40H 37′ 37” | + 01H 21′ 04” |
| 3 | 201 | (FRA) SEBASTIEN LOEB(BEL) FABIAN LURQUIN | BAHRAIN RAID XTREME | 40H 47′ 14” | + 01H 30′ 41” |
| 4 | 217 | (ZAF) HENK LATEGAN(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux T1+ | 41H 05′ 50” | + 01H 49′ 17” |
| 5 | 205 | (ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY | TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux T1+ | 41H 30′ 51” | + 02H 14′ 18” |
| 6 | 210 | (CZE) MARTIN PROKOP(CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA | ORLEN BENZINA TEAM | 42H 10′ 32” | + 02H 53′ 59” |
| 7 | 231 | (FRA) ROMAIN DUMAS(FRA) MAX DELFINO | REBELLION RACING | 42H 20′ 27” | + 03H 03′ 54” |
| 8 | 216 | (ZAF) BRIAN BARAGWANATH(ZAF) LEONARD CREMER | CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM | 42H 41′ 04” | + 03H 24′ 31” |
| 9 | 224 | (CHN) WEI HAN(CHN) MA LI | HANWEI MOTORSPORT TEAM | 43H 10′ 40” | + 03H 54′ 07” |
| 10 | 220 | (ARG) JUAN CRUZ YACOPINI(ESP) DANIEL OLIVERAS CARRERAS | OVERDRIVE RACING | 43H 25′ 04” | + 04H 08′ 31” |
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing enjoys a mutually helpful relationship with its companions Red Bull, Kinto, Eurol and the Innovation Group. The crew can be supported by Hallspeed, SKF, Spanjaard, Edgecam, Supreme Springs, Shatterprufe, Smith’s Manufacturing, Oakley, Lumotech, OMP, MSA, SACCS and the FIA. Thanks additionally to Ingco, Jonsson Workwear and USN for their assist.
Posted by Toyota South Africa DAKAR on MotorPress
For extra Toyota GAZOO Racing and Dakar 2023 information, observe our South African drivers on our motorsport web page.
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