Variawa and Stassen in top 10 in Dakar 2022

After 10 days of racing and one day of rest, the South African team drove themselves into the top 10 of their class.

The dust has not settled for Variawa and Stassen, as the two have yet to finish the 14-day race in Saudi Arabia. The race started on January 1 and will finish tomorrow. Variawa and Stassen had to keep their focus after having completed nine stages of the Dakar Rally 2022 in Saudi Arabia in 11 days. They are competing with the all-new Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ for Toyota Gazoo Racing and are representing South Africa in the 4×4 petrol and diesel car class.

The competitors arrived in Jeddah and drove to Ha’il to take part in the qualifying stage, stage 1A, on Saturday January 1. A short 19-kilometre special stage separated two parts of the 595-kilometre route from Jeddah to Ha’il to determine the starting order of Sunday January 2’s first real day of racing.

According to the Dakar 2022 website, Variawa and Stassen came in 15th out of 88 teams in the special 19 kilometre race with a time of 12 minutes and 27 seconds, being one minute and 31 seconds behind the lead drivers.

The racers were excited for the official start of the event, stage 1B, a 333-kilometre circle route from Ha’il and back, on January 2. Variawa and Stassen finished in 04:52.14 (01:21.21 behind the lead) and achieved 18th position, despite facing electrical problems that slowed them down along with a 15-minute penalty.

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On the following day, stage 2, a 339-kilometre route from Ha’il to Al Qaisumah, was attempted. The duo kept their stage rank with a time of 04:13.21, 48 minutes and 21 seconds behind the lead with another 15-minute penalty. Stage 3 was a circle route from Al Qaisumah and back on January 4. Variawa and Stassen were ranked 12th with a time of 02:42.09, 14 minutes and 40 seconds behind the lead after the 255-kilometre stretch.

The racers drove 465 kilometres from Al Qaisumah to Riyadh in stage 4, achieving 14th place with a time of 04:22.11 (27 minutes and 31 seconds behind the lead). They moved up to 13th place after completing the 346-kilometre circle route from Riyadh and back in stage 5 with a time of 04:14.35, 21 minutes and seven seconds behind the lead.

The competitors faced a challenging sixth stage on January 7. It was another circle route around Riyadh and stretched over 404 kilometres. Variawa and Stassen were rewarded for their commitment and moved up to an outstanding fifth place in a time of 03:10.51, only four minutes and six seconds behind the lead.

The drivers rested on the eighth day of the rally (January 8). The duo participated in the seventh stage on January 9, where they drove 402 kilometres from Riyadh to Al Dawadimi. Variawa and Stassen came in sixth place with a time of 03:28.08, 13 minutes and 10 seconds behind the lead.

The second week of the race started on Monday January 10, when the team drove 395 kilometres from Al Dawadimi to Wadi Ad Dawasir in stage 8. Variawa and Stassen came in 10th with a time of 04:04.04, only 17 minutes and 35 seconds behind the lead with a 10-minute penalty.

ALSO READ: Successful opening week for Toyota Gazoo racing at Dakar 2022

The team moved to sixth place in the stage ranking after completing the ninth stage, a 287-kilometre circle route around Wadi Ad Dawasir, on January 11 with a time of 02:27.46, four minutes and 38 seconds behind the lead.

The South African team ended up in ninth place thus far in the general ranking, having completed nine stages in 11 days in a combined time of 33:35.19 (3:20.15 behind the lead), driving more than 3 000 kilometres through Saudi Arabia.

The dynamic duo has three stages left before crossing their first Dakar Race finish line on Friday January 14.

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