With the prologue for the world’s hardest rally-raid race simply 5 days away, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) Dakar Team has assembled its three GR DKR Hilux T1+ race vehicles at the Sea Camp, north of the Saudi Arabian city of Yanbu. The subsequent order of enterprise is an intensive shakedown to affirm that all the things works as anticipated, earlier than attending to the ultimate checks and administration for Dakar 2023.
The 11km-long prologue for the race, which is used to decide the beginning orders for the primary stage, will get the motion beneath means in the course of the afternoon of 31 December 2022, earlier than the race itself kicks off on New Year’s Day 2023. Fourteen aggressive levels will observe, with a Rest Day following Stage 8.
Can Toyota GAZOO Racing defend their title?
For TGR, the 2023 Dakar Rally will provide a chance to defend the crown it gained, when Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and French co-driver, Mathieu Baumel, introduced the mighty GR DKR Hilux T1+ residence in first place at the tip of the 2022 version of the race. This was Nasser and Mathieu’s second victory for the staff, and they are going to be aiming for a repeat efficiency early within the new 12 months.
Teammate Giniel de Villiers, from South Africa, has among the finest Dakar data in historical past, having competed in twenty Dakars to date. He gained the race in 2009, and has been on the rostrum seven extra instances. He has solely completed exterior the Top 10 as soon as in twenty races, and shall be aiming for an additional strong outcome, once more with co-driver Dennis Murphy, additionally from South Africa, beside him.
For the South African pairing of Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings, their first two Dakar Rallies collectively proved studying experiences. In their first outing, in 2021, the pair crashed closely throughout Stage 5 of the rally, leading to a damaged collarbone for Lategan. In 2022 they bounced again, driving at a extra manageable tempo that noticed them take two stage victories, although their thirty first place end belied the tempo of the younger pairing.
Dakar 2023 guarantees to be one of many hardest but, consisting of 14 levels relatively than the dozen that has turn out to be the norm over the previous few editions of the race. Not solely that, however the route additionally ventures additional into the so-called Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia than ever earlier than. Add to that the Rest Day, which comes effectively after the mid-point of the race, in addition to the removing of mid-stage rest-and-refuel factors, and it’s clear that the upcoming rally shall be robust.
With that stated, the GR DKR Hilux T1+ has seen fixed enchancment because the final Dakar, successful the inaugural W2RC within the arms of Nasser and Mathieu, and taking Giniel to yet one more title within the South African Rally-Raid Championship, which serves as one of many check sequence for the staff. With refinements to the automotive’s high quality, reliability and sturdiness, the staff is assured that it has constructed an excellent higher automotive than the one which gained the race in 2022.
The route for the upcoming Dakar Rally begins at the so-called Sea Camp, on the North-Western shoreline of Saudi Arabia. Both the Prologue and Stage 1 shall be staged from right here, earlier than Stage 2 takes the rally in direction of the gorgeous rocks and canyons round Alula. Next up is Stage 3 in direction of Ha’il, the place the bivouac will stay in place for 3 days earlier than shifting to Al Duwadimi for 2 days. Stage 8 will see the rally attain the Saudi capital of Riyadh, for a much-needed Rest Day.
From right here, the route continues in an Eastward path in direction of Haradh, earlier than shifting into the Empty Quarter for the ultimate few days of the occasion. This 12 months’s Marathon Stage – the place the crews race away from the bivouac to an unsupported camp within the desert, earlier than racing again the next day – will happen close to the tip of the race, and will effectively change the result of the occasion.
The closing levels of the race will take the crews from Shaybah to Al-Hofuf, and on to town of Dammam, on the Arabian Gulf. While the closing three levels of the rally all function distances beneath 200km, the organisers have cautioned that these levels could effectively show the hardest of the occasion, and that opponents shouldn’t take them calmly primarily based purely on their comparatively brief distances.
Dakar 2023 is scheduled to end on 15 January, 2023, within the metropolis of Dammam. This would be the Dakar’s first go to to town, and likewise the primary time that the race spans throughout all the Saudi Arabian panorama from coast to coast.
“We’ve had a stunning year building up to this race, starting with a win at the Dakar in January this year. This was followed by the W2RC title, as well as the South African Rally-Raid Championship win, so we feel that we are extremely well prepared for the race. All I want now is for the flag to drop, so that we can go racing in order to see how our latest GR DKR Hilux T1+ stacks up against the competition.”
Glyn Hall, TGR Dakar Team Principal
“The Dakar Rally really is the big one! We’ve had a great year, winning the first ever W2RC title. But we’d love to add another Dakar victory to the list, and we are sure that the car is good enough to bring us that win.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah, TGR Dakar Team driver
Car numbers:
200 – Nasser Al-Attiyah / Mathieu Baumel
205 – Giniel de Villiers / Dennis Murphy
217 – Henk Lategan / Brett Cummings
Follow the fortunes of the TGR W2RC and Dakar crews by becoming a member of our social media channels:
Facebook: @TGRW2RC
Instagram: tgr_w2rc
Twitter: @TGR_W2RC
YouTube: @tgrw2rc
The staff is supported by Jonsson Workwear and USN.
Posted by Toyota South Africa DAKAR on MotorPress
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