SOLID PERFORMANCES BY ALL THREE TGR CREWS ON PENULTIMATE DAKAR 2023 STAGE

• 2^nd on Stage 13 for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel
• 5^th on Stage 13 for Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings
• 12^th on Stage 13 for Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy

The penultimate stage in the 2023 Dakar Rally proved tougher than expected, with a sea of dunes making the 154km stage near the bivouac at Shaybah a testing one for all the competitors. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s three GR DKR Hilux T1+ crews, however, recorded solid performances on the day, bringing their cars to the finish without incident. This leaves their overall positions unchanged, with just the final stage to go.

Fastest on Stage 13 for TGR was overall race leaders, Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel, who posted the 2^nd-fastest time on the day. They trailed the stage winners to the finish by 5min 28sec, driving at a moderate pace in order to ensure that they complete the stage without mishap. Their lead in the overall classification is now 1hr 21min 52sec, with just the final stage to complete.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings suffered a roll during Stage 12 of the event, losing their 4^th place in the overall standings as a result. They bounced back in Stage 13, going 5^th-fastest after a cautious start. Despite the time loss on the previous stage, they maintained a Top 5 position, and now find themselves in 5^th place, just 7min 24sec behind the crew in 4^th place.

That crew consists of TGR teammates Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy, who were the only GR DKR Hilux T1+ crew to experience trouble on Stage 13. Their left-front damper malfunctioned shortly after starting the stage, forcing them to slow their pace significantly. Poor mid-stage visibility didn’t help their efforts, especially when both crew members experienced motion sickness while crossing the dunes. They were 12^th on the day, losing 13min 51sec to the stage winners, but holding steady in 4^th place overall.

The young Brazilian sensation, Lucas Moraes, driving in his first Dakar Rally, is still in third place overall. Partnered by experienced co-driver, Timo Gottschalk, the privateer has brought his Toyota Hilux T1+ safely through 13 of this year’s 14 stages, and he has just one more stage to negotiate in order to record a dream finish on his Dakar debut.

The final stage of Dakar 2023 is up next, taking the competitors from the bivouac at Al-Hofuf to the finish in the coastal city of Dammam. At only 136km in length, the closing stage is another short one, but unlike the preceding few stages, this one is such much further to the north, and as such won’t consist of as many dunes as the previous stages. Liaisons totalling 281km will bring the total for the last day of the rally to 417km, taking the total distance for this year’s race to just shy of 9,000km.

QUOTES:

Glyn Hall, TGR Dakar Team Principal: “With Stage 13 behind us, we have only the final run from Al-Hofuf to Dammam to contend with tomorrow. Today was much tougher than anticipated, but we’re hoping for an easier run to the finish. But be that as it may, we still find ourselves leading the rally with Nasser and Mathieu, which is just amazing for us. But we also have two more crews in the Top 5, and if this remains the case tomorrow, we’ll be simply ecstatic.”

Nasser Al-Attiyah: “Yes, we’re quite happy with today’s stage. We didn’t push at all, and our GR Hilux worked extremely well today, especially after the small changes we made to the suspension settings after Stage 12. We’ve still got one stage to go, and I hope to bring the Hilux home safely tomorrow.”

Giniel de Villiers: “Not an easy stage for us at all. Shortly after the stage I felt there was something wrong with the left front damper. It wasn’t working at all, and we had to be extra careful with the many dune crossings in the stage. In the middle of the stage, the visibility was just terrible. As a result, both Dennis and I got motion sickness, making for a miserable stage. But I’m glad we’re here, and now there’s only one stage to go.”

Henk Lategan: “I don’t think my time was very fast, but it was definitely a safer stage for us. The stage consisted of only dunes, and we took it a bit easier from the start. This was a better approach for us, as I try to build up confidence again after a few difficult days in the desert.”

DAKAR 2023: Stage 13 Results

POS.	N°	CREW	TEAM	TIME	VARIATION
1	201	(FRA) SEBASTIEN LOEB(BEL) FABIAN LURQUIN	BAHRAIN RAID XTREME	02H 26′ 17”
2	200	(QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGgr dkr hilux t1+	02H 31′ 45”	+ 00H 05′ 28”
3	211	(SWE) MATTIAS EKSTROM(SWE) EMIL BERGKVIST	TEAM AUDI SPORT	02H 32′ 48”	+ 00H 06′ 31”
4	428	(POL) ERYK GOCZAL(ESP) ORIOL MENA	ENERGYLANDIA RALLY TEAM	02H 35′ 13”	+ 00H 08′ 56”
5	217	(ZAF) HENK LATEGAN(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGgr dkr hilux t1+	02H 35′ 44”	+ 00H 09′ 27”
6	202	(SAU) YAZEED AL RAJHI(DEU) DIRK VON ZITZEWITZ	OVERDRIVE RACING	02H 37′ 13”	+ 00H 10′ 56”
7	203	(POL) JAKUB PRZYGONSKI(ESP) ARMAND MONLEON	X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM	02H 37′ 48”	+ 00H 11′ 31”
8	230	(BRA) LUCAS MORAES(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK	OVERDRIVE RACING	02H 38′ 24”	+ 00H 12′ 07”
9	206	(FRA) GUERLAIN CHICHERIT(FRA) ALEX WINOCQ	GCK MOTORSPORT	02H 39′ 13”	+ 00H 12′ 56”
10	400	(LTU) ROKAS BACIUSKA(ESP) ORIOL VIDAL MONTIJANO	RED BULL CAN-AM FACTORY TEAM	02H 39′ 32”	+ 00H 13′ 15”
12	205	(ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGgr dkr hilux t1+	02H 40′ 08”	+ 00H 13′ 51”

DAKAR 2023: Standings after Stage 13

POS.	N°	CREW	TEAM	TIME	VARIATION
1	200	(QAT) NASSER AL-ATTIYAH(FRA) MATHIEU BAUMEL	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux t1+	43H 48′ 10”
2	201	(FRA) SEBASTIEN LOEB(BEL) FABIAN LURQUIN	BAHRAIN RAID XTREME	45H 09′ 52”	+ 01H 21′ 42”
3	230	(BRA) LUCAS MORAES(DEU) TIMO GOTTSCHALK	OVERDRIVE RACING	45H 24′ 00”	+ 01H 35′ 50”
4	205	(ZAF) GINIEL DE VILLIERS(ZAF) DENNIS MURPHY	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux t1+	46H 18′ 54”	+ 02H 30′ 44”
5	217	(ZAF) HENK LATEGAN(ZAF) BRETT CUMMINGS	TOYOTA GAZOO RACINGGR DKR Hilux t1+	46H 26′ 30”	+ 02H 38′ 20”
6	210	(CZE) MARTIN PROKOP(CZE) VIKTOR CHYTKA	ORLEN BENZINA TEAM	47H 27′ 23”	+ 03H 39′ 13”
7	220	(ARG) JUAN CRUZ YACOPINI(ESP) DANIEL OLIVERAS CARRERAS	OVERDRIVE RACING	48H 13′ 52”	+ 04H 25′ 42”
8	224	(CHN) WEI HAN(CHN) MA LI	HANWEI MOTORSPORT TEAM	48H 14′ 11”	+ 04H 26′ 01”
9	209	(FRA) MATHIEU SERRADORI(FRA) LOIC MINAUDIER	CENTURY RACING FACTORY TEAM	48H 16′ 41”	+ 04H 28′ 31”
10	212	(ARG) SEBASTIAN HALPERN(ARG) BERNARDO GRAUE	X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM	48H 34′ 36”	+ 04H 46′ 26”

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with its partners Red Bull, Kinto, Eurol and the Innovation Group. The team is also supported by Hallspeed, SKF, Spanjaard, Edgecam, Supreme Springs, Shatterprufe, Smith’s Manufacturing, Oakley, Lumotech, OMP, MSA, SACCS and the FIA. Thanks also to Ingco, Jonsson Workwear and USN for their support.