After a challenging start to the second week of the Dakar Rally, Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa secured its first stage victory of the year through Saood Variawa, The Citizen reports.

Having finished Sunday’s sixth stage in second place with João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, the 483km loop to and from Wadi Ad Dawasir fell to reigning national Rally-Raid champions Variawa and French co-driver Francois Cazalet by just three seconds over Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings.

With the win, the #213 GR Hilux IMT Evo moved up from 15th to 13th overall.

“Today was quite difficult, especially with the dust and traffic. But we managed to pick them off one by one and push hard towards the end,” Variawa said. “Winning by three seconds shows how close it was, but I’m really happy. It’s our second stage win and the car was amazing.”

Ferreira and Palmeiro hit by puncture

The stage went the opposite way for the #240 Hilux of Ferreira and Palmeiro, who could only manage the 17th fastest time after suffering an early puncture.

The Portuguese duo still moved up a place to 10th overall.

“It was a long stage and we had an early puncture. After that, the pace was difficult because we were second on the road. But we’re alive and now it’s time to prepare for the second and last marathon,” Ferreira said.

Botterill and Mena struggle with punctures and navigation

Another tricky stage curtailed by punctures and navigation difficulties hampered progress for Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena, who finished seven minutes 25 seconds behind Ferreira and Palmeiro in 18th place.

The result left the #213 Hilux 17th overall, one hour 11 minutes and 11 seconds behind the leaders.

“It went really well until about halfway. Then we picked up a slow puncture and navigation got a bit tough towards the end. But it wasn’t a bad day in the car and we’re in a good position for tomorrow,” Botterill said.

Toyota locks out top two

Behind Toyota’s 1-2 finish, Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom and Emil Bergkvist retained second overall with third on the stage, followed by teammates of Lategan and Cummings, Americans Seth Quintero and Andrew Short.

Despite finishing fifth on the stage, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Larquin still lead the Dacia Sandriders by exactly four minutes from Ekstrom and Bergkvist.

Overall standings after stage 8

• Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Larquin – Dacia Sandriders – 32h 32′ 06”
• Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist – Ford Raptor – 32h 36′ 06” (+00h 04′ 00″)
• Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings – Toyota Hilux – 32h 38′ 14″ (+00h 06′ 08”)
• Nani Roma/Alex Haro – Ford Raptor – 32h 41′ 43” (+00h 09′ 37”)
• Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz – Ford Raptor – 32h 42′ 45” (+00h 10′ 39″)
• Sébastien Loeb/Edouard Boulanger – Dacia Sandriders – 32h 49′ 31” (+00h 17′ 25”)
• Mitch Guthrie/Kellon Walch – Ford Raptor – 32h 55′ 06” (+00h 23′ 00”)
• Mathieu Serradori/Loïc Minaudier – Century CR7 – 32h 57′ 10” (+00h 25′ 04”)
• Lucas Moreas/Dennis Zenz – Dacia Sandriders – 33h 02′ 01” (+00h 29′ 55”)
• João Ferreira/Filipe Palmeiro – Toyota Hilux – 33h 07′ 14” (+00h 35′ 08”)

Stage 9 covers 418km from Wadi Ad Dawasir to the bivouac in Bisha as part of the second marathon stage.

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