..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
Nasser al Attiyah sharing his experience
It was great excitement Monday as the 14 days of motorsport actions at Dakar 2017 kicked off officially with the Teams sweating it out in the first stage of the race from Asuncion, Paraguay to Argentina. There is no doubt that the race is not for the lily-livered or the faint-hearted as it comes with excitement, shocks as well as disappointments.
But it was a picture perfect start for Toyota Gazoo Racing SA, as Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel (#301) scaled through the opening stage of the race with a 26th stage victory for Al-Attiyah on the Dakar Rally. Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz cruising Toyota Hilux #302 posted the fifth-fastest time of the day, while Nani Roma and navigator Haro Bravo Alex in their Team Overdrive Toyota Hilux #305 went third-fastest .
However, the elation at the Toyota crews’ spectacular performance, was somewhat dampened by the news that Al-Attiyah/Baumel suffered a small engine fire at the end of the 39 km stage, run to the east of the Paraguayan capital of Asunción. The crew quickly doused the flames, and determined that the fire was caused by an oil leak in the engine bay.
But they decided not to start the engine, and elected to return to bivouac at Resistencia in Argentina under tow and as the problem was not serious, they will continue as leaders of Dakar 2017 on Tuesday.
Commenting on the initial disappointment, Al-Attiyah said after reaching the bivouac at Resistencia, Argentina: ”Of course the fire gave us a big scare, but in the end all that matters is that we won the stage,” adding, “We are so happy to give Toyota the first victory of 2017, and hope there’ll be more stage wins this year.”
For De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz, the opening stage was an opportunity to jostle for the all-important road position on the coming stages.
“I’m very happy with our performance today. The Toyota Hilux ran perfectly, and even though it was a short stage, it was great to get going. Our fifth place puts us in an ideal position on the road for tomorrow’ stage,” said De Villiers after completing the long liaison from the end of Stage 1 to the first bivouac.
Stage 2 will see the Dakar travel from Resistencia to San Miguel de Tucumán, a total distance of 803 km. A full 275 km of that total is devoted to the racing stage, which takes place at an altitude peaking around 250 metres. The stage gets under way at 12:05 local time, with the first cars expected in the bivouac at 16:20.
And the Team is optimistic and in high spirit.
”Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the first proper stage of Dakar 2017. It is long and winding, with plenty of dust. So road position will be crucial,” explained Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team Principal, Glyn Hall. “Thankfully we managed to get Nasser’s car sorted, and Giniel is in the ideal position on the road. Overall, we’re in pretty good shape at the moment.”
