Dakar rule changes could boost SA

Published Dec 12, 2014

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Slight changes to the Dakar Rally’s rule book could give South Africa’s Imperial Toyota Hilux team the boost it needs to win the world’s toughest offroad race next month in South America.

Although the locally designed, developed and built bakkies have been competitive since their first entry three years ago, the race’s regulations have favoured cars with turbodiesel engines.

Turbodiesels, which suffer less disadvantage at Bolivia’s high altitude, have won for the past six years with Minis claiming victory since 2012 and VW Touaregs for three years before that. Imperial Toyota’s Giniel de Villiers gave VW its maiden win in 2009.

But for the 2015 edition of the Dakar, our petrol V8-powered bakkies are allowed to be 60kg lighter than before, and engine restrictors have been upped from 36 to 37mm. The updates are minimal, but with Giniel and the Hilux finishing third in 2012, second in 2013, and fourth early this year, the tweaks might be just enough to push the Imperial Toyota South Africa Dakar team onto the top of the podium.

On top of regulation adjustments, the Imperial team will also field a pair of completely new bakkies which have been redesigned from the ground up. Compared to the previous two Dakar Hilux generations, the new ones feature improved suspension systems and lower centres of gravity as the spare wheels have been relocated from the traditional “bed” area to a spot hidden behind the rear doors. A third spare is tucked under the cockpit. The weight of these three wheels, which totals around 120kg, is now shared between the front and rear axles instead of hanging off the back.

PERFORMANCE GAP NARROWED

The performance gap between the Hiluxes and the front-running Minis is indeed narrowed now, but Imperial Team Principal Glynn Hall says the biggest competition at the Dakar is the rally itself. The new route is not yet finalised but teams know that it will roughly entail 9 000km of gruelling conditions on a loop starting on January 4 in Buenos Aires and looping back to finish in the Argentine capital two weeks later. The old motorsport mantra “to finish first, first you must finish” rings very true here.

The Imperial Hilux driver lineup is unchanged with Giniel and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz again spearheading the team. Between them they have 26 years of Dakar racing experience. The second bakkie will be piloted for the second time by the all-South African crew of driver Leeroy Poulter and navigator Rob Howie – a pairing which last year made rivals sit up and take note with their blistering pace on certain stages.

SA-built Toyota Hiluxes will also be fielded by international competitors including Lucio Alvarez (Argentina), Bernhard ten Brinke (Netherlands) and Yazeed Alrajhi (Saudi Arabia) who are all supported by the Belgian outfit Team Overdrive. Overdrive will also offer logistical support to the Imperial Toyota South Africa Dakar team.

Around 475 entries will line up at the start of the 35th Dakar Rally on January 4, to set off on a gruelling 9 000km offroad endurance race spanning three countries.

EXTREME CONDITIONS

The 2015 edition marks the seventh successive running of the historic race in South America which starts in Buenos Aires, loops up through Chile’s arid Atacama desert, on to Bolivia's power-sucking altitude, and then returns for a finish in the Argentine capital on January 17. A total of 168 motorcycles, 142 cars, 98 quads and 66 trucks will take on the extreme South American conditions.

This year’s overall winner Nani Roma will be back to defend his title in his All 4 Racing Mini, but he’ll have added pressure of seven other near identical Minis in his team to contend with.

Peugeot, which had a successful string of Dakar wins between 1987 and 1990, will also make a historic return with three wild-looking 2008 DKR machines. Peugeot’s all-star driver lineup comprises Stéphane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz, and Cyril Despres who’s making a switch from bikes to cars after winning five times on two wheels.

Apart from the Toyota Hilux entries, South Africa will also be represented by privateers Johan van Staden and Mike Lawrenson who will pilot a locally-made Nissan Navara. In the motorcycle category we have Albert Hintenaus, Wessel Bosman and Riaan van Niekerk all riding on KTM machines, and Brian Baragwanath and Hannes Saaijman will contest the quads class on a pair of Yamahas. Kyalami-based Thompson Motorsport has also built two Renault Duster racers which will compete at the hands of foreign teams.

The 2015 Dakar Rally will again be televised daily on SuperSport channels, and fans can also follow progress on the www.dakar.com website and Toyota SA’s Facebook page.

Mercury Motoring

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