It is set to take place again near Upington in the Northern Cape from today, June 24 to 26.
“The Desert Race is one of the key races for us,” says TOYOTA GAZOO Racing SA Team Principal, Glyn Hall.
“Not only is it the longest race on the calendar, but the terrain in which it is run also closely resembles that of the gruelling Dakar Rally in which we compete each January.”
For TGRSA, the upcoming event is more than just a key race in terms of Dakar preparation. The race is sponsored by Toyota SA Motors as part of its TGRSA motorsport activities, and as such it represents a home race for the team.
“There is always extra pressure at the Desert Race, but we are hopeful that we’re well-prepared, and we’re looking forward to the event,” continues Hall.
The team will be fielding four Class T1+ Toyota Hilux race cars, with defending national champions, Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings taking command of the first of these.
Former champions Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dennis Murphy will also be in action again, while Shameer Variawa and Danie Stassen will campaign the third of the team’s cars.
The final entry will be in the hands of rally ace Guy Botterill and co-driver Simon Vacy-Lyle who are fresh from a double victory in the South African National Rally Championship (NRC), where they campaign a locally built and developed Toyota Starlet.
Lategan/Cummings will be fielding a newly-built Toyota Hilux and the entire team will complete some testing at a private facility near Upington prior to the race.
Continues Hall, “It is important for us to validate the new parts and setups we’ve developed during the lull between races, and testing prior to the Desert Race is critical to our efforts.”
The team will be aiming to score as many points as possible during its home event, with added pressure on De Villiers/Murphy after their disastrous opening round of the season. The pair found themselves in a commanding position near the finish of the Mpumalanga 400 earlier this year, but fell foul to a deep mud hole almost within sight of the end of the race.
They failed to score meaningful points as a result, with the victory going to teammates Lategan/Cummings instead.
Variawa/Stassen ended in second place overall, and will also be in the hunt for a good result this weekend.
The 2022 TGRSA 1 000 Desert Race will get underway with a qualifying race on Friday morning, followed by the first race loop later in the day. Two more race loops follow on Saturday and Sunday, and the race HQ and designated service park will be situated at the Upington Expo Centre.
Spectating is free and open to all, but fans who are unable to attend the race can follow the action via the Rally Safe app, which is available for both Apple and Android devices.
Source: MotorPress
