Dakar stage 3 throws flats at Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa

In a reversal of fortunes from stage 2, Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa endured a tough third stage of this year’s Dakar Rally, largely as a result of punctures.

Flats for everyone

Having suffered a catalogue of problems on the second stage, the third, a 422 km loop around Alula, had better news for Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena, who brought the #218 GR Hilux IMT Evo home in third place to jump from 25^th to 17^th in the overall standings.

“We had a challenging run through the traffic and a lot of dust. We got three punctures and had to limp over the line with a flat, but everything paid off,” Botterill said.

“Oriol was fantastic on the notes, we could see a lot of people getting lost and he was right on the money. The main thing is we brought back a lot of time and the car performed really well”.

Similar to their teammates, Portuguese pair João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro in the #240 Hilux had a puncture-affected stage, with the resulting two flat tyres seeing them finish 27^th and dropping from sixth to 15^th in the overall classification.

ALSO READ: Dakar shows teeth to Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa on stage 2

“It was a tough one, very long and much more stony than we expected. We had two punctures at the beginning and had to drive very slowly and carefully after that to avoid more problems. But we survived, and now we focus on the marathon stage,” Ferreira said.

After a ninth place on stage 2, reigning national Rally-Raid champions, Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet, finished 17^th after also being blighted by punctures.

Despite this, the #213 Hilux crew still finds themselves in ninth place overall.

“We had really good pace, caught and passed a few cars and even passed Loeb. Then the terrain became very stony and we picked up three punctures in total,” Variawa said.

“The road book was tricky and navigation was tough, but we were on it. Everything is okay with the car and I think we’re in a decent place heading into the marathon”.

Blue Oval on top, tough run for Lategan

Having taken second place on the prologue, Americans Mitch Guthrie/Kellon Walch took stage honours in a 1-2 for Ford, leading home Czech former World Rally Championship (WRC) driver Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytka.

The former pair now also lead overall after problems for former leaders Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Larquin, their Dacia Sandriders teammates Sébastien Loeb/Edouard Boulanger, Toyota’s Seth Quintero/Andrew Short and the departure of erstwhile front-runners, Guillaume de Mévius/Mathieu Baumel.

Similar to the Toyota’s stage 2 lock-out, entering stage three, Ford occupies the first five positions, the three works Raptor split by Prokop’s private entry in second.

Behind Botterill and Mena, fourth place and fifth places on the stage fell to the other works Dacias of Lucas Moreas/Dennis Zenz, and Cristina Gutierrez/Pablo Moreno.

A total of four punctures, one happing on the liaison back to service, saw Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings only post the 23^rd fastest time, dropping them from fourth to 11^th in the overall classifications.

Overall standings

1. Mitch Guthrie/Kellon Walch       Ford 11h 27′ 20”
2. Martin Prokop/Viktor Chytka                Ford 11h 27′ 46”
3. Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist    Ford          11h 28′ 28”
4. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz                         Ford          11h 30′ 54”
5. Nani Roma/Alex Haro                            Ford          11h 31′ 22”
6. Lucas Moreas/Dennis Zenz               Dacia       11h 32′ 36”
7. Cristina Gutierrez/Pablo Moreno           Dacia 11h 33′ 19”
8. Mathieu Serradori/Loïc Minaudier         Century 11h 36′ 26”
9. Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet            Toyota       11h 38′ 17”
10. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Larquin Dacia 11h 38′ 59”

Marathon stage

Covering 452 km, stage 4, again a loop to and from Alula, runs to marathon regulations, meaning no overnight assistance from service crews.

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