The Dakar Rally: unfinished business for Team HRC

The Rally Dakar 2016 is over. Team HRC is packing up to go home with a score still remaining to be settled at the Dakar; one for which the team will go all out to achieve. Now, the data has to be analysed and a year-long project planned, if the team is to capture rally’s top prize next year. The team’s endeavour to accomplish this mission in 2017 begins right away.

 The two weeks of racing have ended in Team HRC’s fourth year back in the event, but the entourage will come home disappointed after a bad run of luck put an end to what had appeared to be a promising opening week.

The team returns empty-handed, but more resolved than ever to take top honours next time round. The 2016 edition has been particularly tough on the squad, losing one of the main riders before the rest day and another after having led the rally for three consecutive days. Yet, even after such setbacks, the never-say-die Team HRC attitude prevailed with Dakar rookie Ricky Brabec displaying great promise on his debut. The 24 year old Californian finished ninth overall in addition to having finished runner-up in stage nine.

 Paolo Ceci played an important role for the team, coming to the aid of both Paulo Gonçalves and Joan Barreda on separate occasions when they ran into trouble. Paulo had clinched two stage wins, while Joan had won the prologue and would have won the first two stages too, were it not for time penalties incurred for speeding.

 A special mention goes out to Team HRC’s great collaborator Honda South America Rally Team, who not only scored a stage victory, but also managed to consistently finish among the rally’s front-runners. Argentinean rookie Kevin Benavides rode to a noteworthy and well-deserved fourth place overall. A bright future beckons for this brilliant young rider.

 Frenchman Adrien Metge, also on his maiden Dakar outing, finished the challenge in eleventh overall position. Jean Azevedo and Javier Pizzolito were both forced to retire after heavy falls. Team HRC wishes to express its gratitude to all the sponsors and collaborators who have so loyally supported the team through thick and thin. Many thanks also to all the fans who have offered very active support on social media.

 Now, all that remains is for the team management to analyse and evaluate what has occurred during the Dakar 2016.

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Hélder Rodrigues regressou a Portugal

Piloto da Yamaha vai disputar o Campeonato do Mundo 

Hélder Rodrigues regressou a Portugal depois de ter alcançado o 5º lugar na edição de 2016 do Dakar. Está foi a 7ª vez que o piloto oficial da Yamaha terminou a corrida no Top 5. Ao longo destes 10 anos de Dakar Hélder Rodrigues subiu por duas vezes ao pódio e averbou oito vitórias em etapas, uma das quais na penúltima etapa do Dakar 2016. De salientar que o piloto português completou este ano a sua décima participação no Dakar, sem nunca ter abandonado.

 À chegada a Lisboa Hélder Rodrigues fez um balanço da sua corrida. “ O balanço final é positivo. Estive com gripe. Não é desculpa, é verdade, e também existiram algumas partes técnicas que, no início, ainda não estavam a 100%. Depois, na segunda semana, em que eu queria mesmo muito atacar, sofri uma luxação no ombro. Foram dias difíceis de ultrapassar. A partir daí as coisas começaram a melhorar, evoluímos a mota, eu também comecei a melhorar e a atacar com um nível e ritmo muito fortes”, referiu o piloto.

 Uma das coisas que deixou Hélder Rodrigues muito satisfeito foi a fiabilidade da sua Yamaha. “Nunca tivemos nenhum problema em pista o que é muito bom e me permitiu ganhar muita confiança. Os últimos três Dakar foram muito difíceis. A mota parava sempre na pista e eu tinha de parar para a arranjar. Isso mexeu muito com a minha autoconfiança. Este ano voltei a conseguir fazer um Dakar sem ter de estar parado em pista e isso é muito importante para mim e para o meu futuro”, salientou o piloto oficial da Yamaha que anunciou a sua participação nas várias etapas de um Campeonato do Mundo que já conquistou em 2011.

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2016 Dakar // Al-Attiyah and the MINI ALL4 Racing – Winners in the four-wheel-drive ranking

· Successful Dakar debut for Mikko Hirvonen and Harry Hunt 

· Four MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles secure top-10 positions 

Torrential rain, floodings, heat, enormous heights… The 2016 edition off the Dakar rally once again proved to be an event featuring extremes for man and machine. With their MINI ALL4 Racing, Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and Mathieu Baumel (FRA) finished as best placed all-wheel drive pairing. Only one driver, Stéphane Peterhansel, completed the 2016 Dakar faster than Al-Attiyah but the French two wheel buggy driver still has to face an appeal. And so, the entire Dakar result is provisional, so far. “The rollover in the Fiambala stage cost us a lot of time. Otherwise, we could have made it to the very top by our own effort,” revealed Nasser Al-Attiyah. “But that’s the Dakar. Everybody makes mistakes. I would love to also contest the 2017 Dakar and once again battle it out for the win.”

 While the battle of the 4x4 vehicles – particularly the MINI ALL4 Racing and the Toyota – was extremely close, the buggies succeeded in – in particular in the first week – using both the routes suiting them well and the advantage they enjoyed due to the technical regulations for opening a big lead over the rest of the field. But in the second week, the reliability, durability, manoeuverability and staying power of the MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles allowed their drivers to close the gap and battle their way up to the top positions. The stage win of Al-Attiyah on the eighth stage represented the necessary boost for the final attack, resulting in another two stage wins. In the end, three of the MINI ALL4 Racing vehicles made it to the top six in the overall standings.

 Finland’s Mikko Hirvonen who switched from WRC to cross-country rallying, last year, made a sensational Dakar debut. He contested the 2016 edition of the legendary event together with the experienced French navigator Michel Périn. The pairing particularly impressed with their consistency, finished fifth in nearly every stage and made virtually no mistakes. “I just can’t believe how well the Dakar ran for me,” beamed the Finn. “The cooperation between Michel and me improved day by day and the team did a fantastic job. As I see it, the key to our success was the fact that we completed the Dakar without encountering any major problems on our MINI ALL4 Racing or making any bigger mistakes. I had hoped for making it to the top five and that’s exactly what we achieved.” 

For Nani Roma and Alex Haro (both ESP), the Dakar began with a major setback. On stage two they got stuck in a mud hole for nearly an hour. But they didn’t give up and step by step, they battled their way back up in the overall standings. In stage nine, when many of their rivals struggled with problems, they had a trouble-free day and as a result, the leaped back up to the top 10. On the following days they kept on gaining ground to finish 6th., in the end. ´´It was a somewhat weird Dakar for us and the first days didn’t run really well,” admitted Roma. “It was the only second Dakar for Alex and we needed some days to learn to chime together. But now, we have found the way to an automatic cooperation and I’m really happy that we achieved this level. That’s why we were able to work our way back up to the top flight. The difficult stages just suit us. There, we can make maximum use of our strengths and there we gained a lot of time.” 

For Orlando Terranova and Ronnie Graue (both ARG), the 2016 Dakar didn’t run as they had hoped it would. Like Nani Roma they got stuck in a mud hole in stage two, thus losing a lot of time. And on the following days, things also didn’t run according to the Argentineans’ plans. “Unfortunately, the only thing I can say is that it wasn’t a good Dakar for us,” said the Argentinean. “It just wasn’t to be, for us.” 

Young Briton Harry Hunt, however, impressed with a good Dakar debut. Like Hirvonen, he also had been teamed up with an experienced co-driver: Andreas Schulz. The two-time Dakar winner particularly focused on making sure that the Dakar rookie contested the special stages with the necessary calmness. A strategy that paid off. In the end, the pairing took their MINI ALL4 racing to 10th position overall. “I’m virtually over the moon,” the Briton beamed after having crossed the finish podium. “My first Dakar, I made it to the finish and I secured 10th place. That’s just incredible. “It was extremely tough but we completed the event nearly without being hampered by major problems. And a big thank you to Andy. He was the calm anchor in our car.”

Meanwhile, Poland’s Adam Malysz and his French co-driver Panseri displayed true Dakar spirit. On stage nine, from Uyuni to Salta, their clutch broke in the opening stages. The two waited for the race truck to afterwards let it tow them through the entire special stage, including all the waypoints. At 10:00hrs on the day of rest, nearly 24 hours after having started into the stage in Bolivia, they arrived in the bivouac at Salta. “That’s not the way how we hoped to finish the first week,” admitted Malysz. “But we also weren’t ready to give up. Therefore, we opted for passing all the waypoints with the race truck instead of taking shortcuts. Fortunately, we and our mechanics could use the day of rest for getting the MINI ready to race again.”

 The Dakar itself will be remembered as one of the wettest in the sport’s history. The first stage had to be cancelled due to too much water and later, several special stages had to be shortened due to too high water levels of rivers. In Jujuiy, Argentina, rain falling hour by hour flooded the entire bivouac. From the rain, the Dakar baggage hit the road to Bolivia’s heights. On stage five, the competitors arrived at 4,600 metres above sea level, the highest point ever in a Dakar special stage. Numerous drivers struggled with head ache caused by the low oxygen content in the air. Then, back in Argentina, in the dunes of Fiambala, the field had to cope with a heat wave. Because of the temperatures rising up to 50° C, the 9th special stage had to be stopped early.

 Sven Quandt, X-raid Team Manager “I’m proud of our crews and our mechanics who never gave up although many already had written us off, in the first week. But we battled our way back up. In the second week, the MINI ALL4 Racing could make full use of its strengths and advantages. I have to congratulate Nasser who once again made it to the very top, with his pace. Mikko delivered in sensational style. To make so few mistakes in your first Dakar is truly amazing. It was an extremely gruelling Dakar – not only for the drivers but for the entire team. The rain in the first week, the extreme altitude and the enormous heat in the second represented an extreme strain but was mastered in fantastic style by everybody.” 

Overall standings Dakar 2016

1st S. Peterhansel (FRA) / J.-P. Cottret (FRA) Peugeot – 45h 22m 10s*
2nd N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) / M. Baumel (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 45h 57m 08s
3rd G. De Villiers (ZAF) / D. von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota – 46h 24m 57s
4th M. Hirvonen (FIN) / M. Périn (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 46h 27m 28s
5th L. Poulter (ZAF) / R. Howie (ZAF) Toyota – 46h 52m 53s
6th J. Roma (ESP) / A. Haro (ESP) MINI ALL4 Racing – 47h 03m 16s
... 10th H. Hunt (GBR) / A. Schulz (GER) MINI ALL4 Racing – 48h 33m 40s
... 12th O. Terranova (ARG) / B. Graue (ARG) MINI ALL4 Racing – 50h 11m 04s
13th E. van Loon (NDL) / W. Rosegaar (NDL) MINI ALL4 Racing – 50h 44m 23s
... 15th J. Przygonski (POL) / A. Rudnitski (BLR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 51h 02m 10s
... 23rd B. Garafulic (CHL) / F. Palmeiro (POR) MINI ALL4 Racing – 54h 55m 28s
... 45th N. Lopez (ARG) / S. Lafuente (URU) MINI ALL4 Racing – 69h 53m 55s
... 53rd A. Malysz (POL) / X. Panseri (FRA) MINI ALL4 Racing – 74h 08m 13s

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Honda place three rookies amongst top Dakar finishers

The Rally Dakar 2016 finished today in Rosario with three Honda riders up amidst rally raid’s elite: Kevin Benavides and Ricky Brabec have proved to be two of the sport’s bright lights for the future. 

Kevin Benavides of Honda South America Rally Team and Ricky Brabec of Team HRC concluded the adventure in the top ten of the general standings at the close of the Rally Dakar 2016; Adrien Metge was eleventh overall. For all of them, this had been the maiden Dakar outing. The thirteenth and final stage of the rally consolidated rider’s overall positions in the general rankings, with the 180 kilometre trek to the finish-line in Rosario, not enough to allow any major upsets to the previous day’s standings. Ricky Brabec was particularly attentive over the final stretch on his Dakar debut, but held a steady, fast rhythm throughout to post eighth place on the day.

The American rider, who managed to take ninth overall position, had good cause to celebrate, with the Californian – an expert in desert races – churning out consistently fine performances. Brabec, 24, took a well-deserved top ten place, especially given that he had been out of racing for five months after a serious accident in an American rally in 2015.

 Italian Paolo Ceci, 40, completed his double objective for the Dakar well: firstly, he made it through the whole 9000 km ordeal until the Rosario finish-line, and secondly, was able to aid his team-mates on numerous crucial occasions. Ceci was fundamental in various stages, having to tow Paulo Gonçalves and Joan Barreda when they ran into different problems. Paolo Ceci has become something of Team HRC’s guardian angel and adds another completed Dakar to his honour’s list which now stands at a 100% finish rate for each of his five participations.

 Honda South America Rally Team has been the revelation of the Rally Dakar. After the falls suffered by its most veteran components, the inexperienced newcomers took over and stole the show, finishing amongst the big guns. It was Kevin Benavides, 27, whose star shone the brightest, not only for Team HSA, but also for Argentinean motorcycling, as he became the first Argentine ever to win a Dakar stage. Kevin finished in fourth overall place.

 Frenchman, Adrien Metge, 29, also of Honda South America Rally Team, by way of Honda Brasil with whom he began racing in 2015, will also go home happy after a more-than-satisfactory Dakar, taking 12ths spot on the day to finish 11th overall.

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Com o ASX Racing, Equipe Mitsubishi Petrobras completa o Rally Dakar 2016

João Franciosi e Gustavo Gugelmin superaram todas as dificuldades dos mais de 9.000 km para comemorar na rampa de chegada em Rosario, na Argentina

 Depois de 9.583 km entre a Argentina e Bolívia, terminou hoje em Rosario (ARG) o Rally Dakar, a maior e mais difícil prova off-road do mundo. A bordo do ASX Racing da Equipe Mitsubishi Petrobras, a dupla João Franciosi e Gustavo Gugelmin cruzou a linha de chegada e comemorou por ter conseguido concluir um desafio tão grande.

"É um sonho que se realizada a cada dia. Tudo o que fizemos se resume a essa chegada", vibra Franciosi. "Foi o meu primeiro e já conseguimos completar. É uma satisfação muito grande. Estou muito feliz por ter chegado, um sonho que se tornou realidade", disse ele com a voz embargada pela emoção.

 A dupla superou as mais diversas dificuldades em 14 dias de competição. Foram condições inóspitas percorrendo desertos, estradas, montanhas e serras. Na Bolívia, enfrentaram a neve e até chuva de pedra. Pelo interior da Argentina, muita poeira, montanhas e temperaturas que beiraram os 50ºC, tornando a prova ainda mais desgastante e chegando ao limite do corpo e dos equipamentos. Só de cruzar a linha de chegada já é o maior troféu para a carreira de qualquer piloto.

 João Franciosi fez sua estreia na competição e já conseguiu concluir a prova e o navegador Gustavo Gugelmin, apesar de ter participado da edição de 2014, não teve o gostinho de terminar o Rally Dakar.

  "Mesmo com os problemas que foram aparecendo, a gente se motivada cada vez mais. Desistir jamais. Sempre que chegávamos a noite ao acampamento a equipe estava feliz, animada por termos concluído mais um dia. Foi dessa maneira que conseguimos chegar até o final. As dificuldades foram nos dando ainda mais motivação. Fazer as dunas a noite foi uma loucura, atolamos várias vezes e achamos que não íamos conseguir. Mas o espírito do rali é isso. Ninguém vem para um Dakar para não encontrar dificuldades. E hoje, ao cruzar a linha de chegada, foi muito bom, todos se abraçando, comemorando", vibra o piloto.

  "Em 2014 realizei o sonho de ir ao Dakar e hoje estou completando a prova. Foi duríssimo. Estou muito feliz e, ao mesmo tempo, cansado, desgastado. Nos últimos dias chegamos ao limite do corpo", comenta Gustavo. "Mas, com certeza, além do sonho de todos que correm o rali, que é fazer o Dakar, estou realizando e chegando ao final dele. Terminar essa prova é algo pra levar pra vida toda. Superação, força, dedicação e profissionalismo", completa o navegador.

  Carreiras

João Franciosi tem 51 anos e é natural de Casca (RS), mas reside há mais de três décadas em Luis Eduardo Magalhães (BA), onde atua no setor de agronegócio. Graças a seu talento, João Franciosi fez uma rápida ascensão no rali. Sua carreira começou no Auto Cross, onde correu por 11 anos e foi 10 vezes campeão baiano. Mas mais de 10 anos se dedica ao cross-country. Apenas em sua segunda participação no Rally dos Sertões, foi campeão geral da prova com uma Mitsubishi L200 inscrita na categoria Production (carro de produção, com poucas modificações). É o único piloto na história a conseguir esse feito. Em 2015, completou 11 participações na maior prova off-road do Brasil e tem em seu currículo um feito único: das 104 etapas disputadas, só não completou uma, em 2009.

 O navegador Gustavo Gugelmin ingressou no kart aos 8 anos influenciado por seu pai, Sergio Gugelmin, também piloto e campeão em várias modalidades. Passando por ralis de regularidade e velocidade, conquistou diversos títulos, em dupla com seu pai, associando habilidade, rapidez e precisão, juntamente com amplo conhecimento em mecânica, tanto para pilotar quanto para navegar. Entre suas principais conquistas estão o Rally dos Sertões na geral e categoria T2, Mitsubishi Cup e, em 2012, o Campeonato Mundial na categoria T2 como navegador.

  "Foi a empreitada mais difícil que tive na minha vida. O sonho de fazer um Dakar e chegar ao final aconteceu. Sempre vou estar pronto para desafios", revela Franciosi.

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Quinto lugar de Hélder Rodrigues no Dakar

Sétimo Top 5 em dez participações sem registar qualquer abandono 

Depois de uma brilhante vitória na penúltima etapa, Hélder Rodrigues completou hoje a sua décima participação no Dakar. Nestes dez anos, iniciados em 2006 quando a prova saiu pela primeira vez de Portugal, o agora piloto da equipa oficial da Yamaha nunca abandonou e terminou a corrida por sete vezes no Top 5. Subiu por duas vezes ao pódio, tendo ainda averbado oito vitórias em etapas.

 Na derradeira etapa, hoje disputada entre Villa Carlos Paz a Rosario, Hélder Rodrigues, aos comandos da sua WR450F Rally, foi o terceiro mais rápido na especial cronometrada com 180 quilómetros de extensão. Um resultado que não foi contudo suficiente para melhorar o quinto lugar conquistado na véspera. O piloto português, que esteve fortemente condicionado ao longo da primeira semana por se encontrar doente, terminou este Dakar 2016 a 4m56s de um lugar no pódio.

  “Estou muito feliz por ter cortado a meta neste meu décimo Dakar. A partida de hoje, dada pela classificação invertida, tornou mais difícil atacar para tentar conquistar uma posição. O pó levantado pelos concorrentes que partiam à minha frente tornaram a especial perigosa. Esse desafio implicava correr riscos e este Top 5 satisfaz-me, tendo em conta que estive doente na primeira semana do rali. Foi um Dakar muito duro, mas fizemos um excelente trabalho com a Yamaha. Quero aproveitar para lembrar os meus colegas de equipa Alessandro Botturi e Xavier De Soultrait que, infelizmente, foram forçados a abandonar uns dias antes de a prova terminar. Com eles e com o Adrien Van Beveren, trabalhámos bem em conjunto e partilhámos bons momentos. Obrigado Yamaha”, referiu o piloto da equipa oficial da Yamaha em Rosario, Argentina.

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MARCO BULACIA AND PETER JERIE STEER THEIR SOUTH RACING TOYOTA HILUXES SAFELY TO FINISH OF PUNISHING DAKAR RALLY IN ROSARIO

Consistent South Racing Toyota duo finish 21st and 32nd overall 

DMAS South Racing Ford Rangers complete Dakar in 30th and 35th 

Bolivian driver Marco Bulacia and Czech-born Australian counterpart Peter Jerie enjoyed a superb Dakar Rally in a pair of South Racing-run Toyota Hiluxes. They reached the Rosario finish in 21st and 32nd overall.

 Bulacia and his Argentinean navigator Ruben Garcia gradually climbed the leader board as the rally made its way through Argentina into Bolivia and back across the Andes mountain range for a final few days in the heat, sand and dust of northern Argentina. They completed the final stage in 26th position to confirm an impressive 21st in the final standings.

  “It was a great race for me, Ruben and my country,” enthused Bulacia. “To be able to reach the finish in such a good spot is fantastic. Ruben did a faultless job and I would like to thank the team, my mechanics and all the people who supported us. We are looking forward to more races in the future.”

 Jerie was partnered by fellow Australian navigator Dale Moscatt for the first time and followed up his success in last year’s Dakar Series to reach the finish podium in 32nd.

  “It has been a funny Dakar and not a conventional one,” admitted Jerie. “But we are happy to be here at the finish in Rosario. It was my first Dakar with Dale and he was magic and gave his all. The blisters on his hands are proof of that. We had no problems with the car during the stages and that is a testament to the hard work of our mechanics.”

 Bulacia and Jerie started the rally strongly and held 26th and 33rd overall at the event’s traditional rest day at Salta in northern Argentina. Torrential rain, thunderstorms and modified stages were a thing of the past as the route headed south and competitors had to deal with a totally different threat from the elements over the final few days – temperatures that soared to the high forties Centigrade around the La Rioja and San Juan regions of north-western Argentina.

 Bulacia began the demanding loop stage through the dunes around Belén from 25th and finished the special in an impressive 19th place to move up to 21st overall. Jerie climbed a place to 32nd soon after the rest day, but slipped back to 33rd overall after the punishing heat and treacherous sand of the special stage out of La Rioja.

 The duo were classified in 21st and 32nd into San Juan and held similar positions after the longest day of the entire rally into Villa Carlos Paz, positions they held to the finish.

 DMAS South Racing was also involved in running a pair of Ford Rangers in a joint venture with the Spanish company Esponsorama. Former WRC star Xavier Pons and Chilean driver Daniel Mas Valdes drove the two cars and reached the finish in Rosario in 30th and 35th overall. It meant that all four South Racing cars reached the finish.

  “It was a great race for the team and to be able to bring all the cars to the finish is a wonderful achievement,” said South Racing’s team director Scott Abraham. “The crews did a great job, but the heroes of the race are the mechanics, store men, logistics personnel and our race support crews in the T2 and T4 vehicles. I cannot express how proud I am to have such a team, who really are a family. I also thank all our partners for their support.”

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OVERDRIVE RACING AND TOYOTA GAZOO RACING FINISH GRUELLING DAKAR RALLY WITH PODIUM AND THREE CARS IN TOP 10

· De Villiers, Poulter and Vasilyev reach Rosario in third, fifth and eighth overall 

· Al-Rajhi, Prokop, Chabot and Dabrowski finish race in 11th, 14th, 22nd and 29th 

Overdrive Racing and Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa emphasised the strength and reliability of the Toyota Hilux by completing the gruelling Dakar Rally with a podium finish, three cars inside the top 10 and seven of their original eight cars at the ceremonial ramp in Rosario on Saturday.

 Giniel de Villiers and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz had been the model of consistency on recent Dakar rallies and the Toyota Gazoo South Africa team’s hard work was rewarded with a superb third place after two weeks battling against the elements and treacherous terrain on the world’s most difficult off-road rally.

 The duo had been sixth overall at the rest day but, as the temperatures climbed over the final week and the route became tougher – with treacherous sand dunes, fesh-fesh and punishing navigation – De Villiers was in his element.

  “At the end of the day we waged all-out war for the podium with Mikko Hirvonen and I pulled out all the stops on the last long stage to make it happen,” said De Villiers. “I’m happy for Toyota and the team to keep the podium spot. The first week was frustrating for me. We were behind, but I’m happy with the reliability of our vehicle, even if it’s difficult to hold your own against turbo engines. Its my 13th Dakar and my fifth podium.”

 South African colleagues, Leeroy Poulter and Robert Howie, enjoyed a superb Dakar as well in the second Toyota Gazoo car. They produced numerous impressive stage performances and were rewarded with a career-best fifth overall.

 Vladimir Vasilyev and navigator Konstantin Zhiltsov began the second half of the event in ninth overall and maintained a consistent pace through the most demanding of the stages to reach Rosario in eighth in their Overdrive Toyota. The highlight for the former FIA World Cup champion was the third quickest time on the special stage between Belén and La Rioja, where he had been running as the second quickest driver through the early checkpoints.

 Saudi Arabian driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German navigator Timo Gottschalk were eighth overall at the rest day and survived the punishing second half of the event to reach the finish in 11th. Al-Rajhi was not able to show the form that took him to third place near the finish 12 months ago and a time-consuming crash, that damaged the wheels on his Toyota and cost him three hours between Belén and La Rioja, prevented the Saudi from climbing higher up the final leader board.

 Czech WRC star Martin Prokop finished his first ever Dakar Rally in impressive fashion with co-driver Jan Tomanek in an Overdrive Toyota Hilux. Prokop drove in a professional and measured fashion, avoided risks and was rewarded with a 14th-placed finish.

 The French pairing of Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot enjoyed their first Dakar with Overdrive Racing. They began the second half of the rally in 19th and, despite a few minor setbacks on the way through Argentina, Chabot reached the finish in 22nd.

 The Polish former enduro-riding duo of Marek Dabrowski and Jacek Czachor had gearbox problems during the first week and started the second half of the rally in a lowly 66th overall. But the Poles are experienced at the Dakar and, where others hit trouble and fell by the wayside, Dabrowski and Czachor came into their own and climbed back into the top 30. They reached Rosario in 29th place.

 Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke and Belgian navigator Tom Colsoul lost eighth overall in the eighth car after their Toyota Hllux sustained a flat tyre and the flailing rubber overheated, caught fire and set the car alight near the end of a stage.

  “Seven cars from eight at the finish of Dakar, a podium, three cars in the top 10 and four in the top 11 is something we can be very proud of,” said Overdrive CEO Jean-Marc Fortin. 

“The retirement was an expensive one and it was disappointing for Bernhard because he was setting some quick times and could have made the top five. But our team did a great job and Martin came home 14th on his first Dakar. He made a couple of mistakes, but it was an impressive performance from him. 

 “It was not a conventional Dakar in terms of the stages and it was much harder for the mechanics than it was for the cars. During the first week we had the rain and the floods and then we had the heat and the sun in week two. The timetable was relentless and very tiring for the team, who all did a great job. There were few proper off-road stages in the dunes, but Vladimir showed that we were close to the Peugeots in the sandy stages. 

 “I think everyone was surprised by the pace of the Peugeots. They had a strong team, but we were close and had a great fight with the Minis. Maybe there are a few things that the race organisers need to review for the future, but it was a successful Dakar for us and it showed the strength and reliability of the Toyota Hilux.”

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