Dakar Rally takes its toll

The Dakar Rally which started in Lima, Peru on 5 January 2013 has already taken its toll with many experienced competitors succumbing to challenging conditions. Stage 3 of the world’s toughest motor racing challenge was no different, with the Toyota Imperial Team South Africa experiencing critical setbacks.

Vos and Howie forced to retire



South African off-road champions Duncan Vos and Rob Howie have been forced to retire with a damaged roll cage after rolling their Imperial Toyota Hilux on special stage three between Pisco and Nazca in Peru. Vos and Howie finished 10th overall in 2012 and this year saw the pair finish 48th. They were officially classified as 25th overall but after inspection, it was evident that the roll cage was too badly damaged for Vos and Howie to continue.

De Villiers and von Zitzewitz fall behind



Team-mates and 2009 Dakar champions Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz suffered a navigational setback that cost them over 30 minutes, dropping them from third overall to fifth place, 30 minutes 22 seconds behind leaders Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret of France in a Mini.



Giniel de Villiers said, “Today was anything but good for us! It wasn’t the car’s fault, it’s just that we made a huge navigational mistake which added almost 20 kilometres to our route. It got so bad that Dirk had to get out several times to see where we were and what direction we had to take. This is one of those mistakes which cost you dearly and in the end we must have lost nearly half an hour. That’s the way it is. This is just the third special and there’s still a long road before us, so we’ll stay focused and try to do much better tomorrow. In the last few days we’ve already seen that things can change overnight at the Dakar.

”

Stage 3 was won by 2011 Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and Lucas Cruz of Spain in a Buggy, who improved their overall position from seventh to second. Lucio Alvarez and Roland Graue of Argentina are currently placed third overall in their South African-built Toyota Hilux.

Dakar Rally – Stage 4 – Nazca (Peru) to Arequipa (Argentina)



Stage 4 of the Dakar Rally takes place between Nazca in Peru and Arequipa in Argentina and the route is twice as long as stage 3, totalling 717 kilometres. Stage 4 starts with a 429 km liaison section before the competitors tackle a 288 km special stage which includes a thousand and one dunes in a never-ending desert that will most likely unsettle the best technical specialists. |



Stage 4 begins at 12:32 PM (SA time).