Ballito’s Guy Botterill delivers in his first Dakar Rally
His final three days of racing will see him cover a further 1 524km of unforgiving desert terrain between Al-'Ula and Yanbu.
Ballito’s Guy Botterill is currently ninth place overall in his first Dakar Rally.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver has given a fantastic account of himself as a rookie and still has a few days to prove himself further before the rally ends on Friday.
Alongside navigator Brent Cummings, Botterill has driven a consistent race and was two hours and 24 minutes behind leader Carlos Sainz Sr after Monday’s 8th stage.
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.
Sainz Sr is the father of Ferrari F1 driver, Carlos Sainz Jr, and is a Dakar veteran with three titles to his name.
Nine time World Rally champion, Sébastian Loeb, was in second place.
That is the level of competitor against whom Botterill has driven since January 5, aside from punishing desert heat, exhaustion and difficult sandy stages.
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.
“I’ve learnt a lot,” said Botterill after Stage 8, which saw teams travel between Al Duwadimi and Ha’il in Saudi Arabia.
“I picked up a lot of pace on the sand dunes and then got onto the flats where I’m pretty good, but unfortunately we picked up a puncture.”
“But all in all, I think it was a good day, the car is going very well.”
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.
Botterill is the second best placed South African behind legendary Dakar driver and teammate Giniel de Villiers in 5th.
They both compete in the ‘cars’ category, one of five available alongside motorbikes, quads, lightweight vehicles and trucks.
At the time of print, Botterill was still under way in the 639km Stage 9 between Ha’il and Al-‘Ula.
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa.
His final three days of racing will see him cover a further 1 524km of unforgiving desert terrain between Al-‘Ula and Yanbu.
Catch the action live on Supersport, or follow Botterill’s journey via dakar.com or the official Dakar Rally app.
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