Had they not withdrawn from Stage 2 of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on account of a boost-related concern, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings might effectively have discovered themselves in competition for general victory – particularly given their stage win on the final test of the 5-stage occasion. Even so, the crew gained a number of expertise in Abu Dhabi, which is definite to help them in their future races.
Stage win means quite a bit to Lategan and Cummings
“I certainly learnt a lot this week.”
“The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge truly is a tough event, with many pitfalls that can catch you out without any notice. We were unfortunate to have had to withdraw from Stage 2 of the event, otherwise the results may well have looked different. Even so, we’ve recorded a number of podium finishes in the other stages, and I’m elated about our stage win in today’s final stage of the event.”
Henk Lategan, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
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The final stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge stretched between the Qasr Al Sarab bivouac and Abu Dhabi metropolis. There had been liaisons of 29km and 135km earlier than and after the particular, however it was the timed part that noticed the GR DKR Hilux T1+ crew shine. The TGR crew wanted solely 2hr 36min 11sec to finish the stage, giving them a profitable margin of 2min 2sec over the next-fastest crew.
It was a rollercoaster week for the South Africans, who opened their account with a 3rd place on Stage 1. An unlucky concern associated to the turbo enhance of their automotive compelled them to withdraw from Stage 2 of the occasion, taking them out of competition in the general standings. They bounced again in Stage 3 with one other third place, earlier than going one higher to safe second place in Stage 4. This was adopted up with a win on the final stage of the occasion.
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“Henk and Brett have proven themselves as tough competitors in the past, but winning the final stage of this tough race underlines their abilities. I’m also encouraged by the near-faultless performance of our GR DKR Hilux T1+, with the boost-related issue that hampered Henk and Brett’s progress in Stage 2, the only blot on its otherwise perfect record this week.”
TGRSA Team Principal, Glyn Hall.
Teammates and defending World Rally-Raid Champions, Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, began the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on cost. They received the Prologue, and adopted this up with a shocking win on the opening stage of the occasion. They added extra wins on Stages 2 and three, earlier than a rollover close to the finish of Stage 4 – which they’d been main up till that time – introduced their cost to a halt. This was a bitter blow for the crew, however they are going to be again to proceed the protection of their title at Round 3 of the 2023 W2RC.
Round 3 is scheduled for 22 to twenty-eight April, at the Sonora Rally in Mexico. This shall be adopted by the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina, and the season-closing Rally of Morocco, which can happen in October this 12 months. Nasser and Mathieu received each the Dakar Rally and the W2RC title in 2022, and shall be hoping to duplicate their success in 2023, after already claiming victory at this 12 months’s Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
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Stage 5 Results
| CREW | TEAM | TIME | |
| 1 | H. LATEGAN (ZAF) / B. CUMMINGS (ZAF) | #211 – TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | 2:36:11 |
| 2 | S. LOEB (FRA) /F. LURQUIN (BEL) | #200 – BAHRAIN RAID XTREME | +2:02 |
| 3 | S. HALPERN (ARG) / B. GRAUE (ARG) | #205 – X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM | +5:38 |
| 4 | M. GUTHRIE (USA) / Ok. WALCH (USA) | #302 – RED BULL OFF-ROAD JUNIOR TEAM USA | +6:45 |
| 5 | J. YACOPINI (ARG) / D. OLIVERAS (ESP) | #204 – OVERDRIVE RACING | +7:14 |
| 6 | S. LOEB (FRA) /F. LURQUIN (BEL) | #200 – BAHRAIN RAID XTREME | 2:28:10 |
Overall standings after Stage 5
| CREW | TEAM | TIME | |
| 1 | Y. AL RAJHI (SAU) / T. GOTTSCHALK (DEU) | #207 – OVERDRIVE RACING | 16:28:06 |
| 2 | M. PROKOP (CZE) / V. CHYTKA (CZE) | #203 – ORLEN BENZINA TEAM | +12:31 |
| 3 | S. QUINTERO (USA) / D. ZENZ (DEU) | #302 – RED BULL OFF-ROAD JUNIOR TEAM USA | +30:25 |
| 4 | J. YACOPINI (ARG) / D. OLIVERAS (ESP) | #204 – OVERDRIVE RACING | +32:57 |
| 5 | S. HALPERN (ARG) / B. GRAUE (ARG) | #205 – X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM | +34:29 |
| 28 | H. LATEGAN (ZAF) / B. CUMMINGS (ZAF) | #211 – TOYOTA GAZOO RACING | +21:46:52 |
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing enjoys a mutually useful relationship with its companions Kinto, Toyota Financial Services, Eurol, DT Tools and the Innovation Group. The crew can be supported by SKF, Spanjaard, Edgecam, Supreme Springs, Shatterprufe, and Smith’s.
Published by Toyota South Africa on MotorPress
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