Colin-on-Cars - Smart moves for truckers

The South African truck market ended 2022 on quite a high note despite supply chain constraints, economic instability both locally and internationally and cost pressures from rising fuel prices and interest rates and UD Trucks showed an 11,6% growth for the year.

For them – and for all the other truck companies in the country – the growth was just cause to celebrate and to look ahead into 2023 which, UD Trucks plans to do by investing in smart logistics solutions to help make fleet owners more efficient and productive

As honourable as this might be, it comes at a time when hundreds of trucks are on our roads and there only because the ruling ANC government has completely failed as has the once mighty rail network. Although not counted in the market growth, many of these trucks are operated by get-rich-quick hopefuls using badly maintained second-hand rigs.

The carnage on South African roads continues unabated with little apparent interest from politicians and lawmakers – unless it is a photo opportunity.

On the other side, the truck distributors, their dealers and big business does what it can to foster a new generation of operators, owners and drivers who have safety, efficiency and cost of operation top of mind.

As UD Trucks Southern Africa's Managing Director, Filip Van den Heede explains: It's not just about pure growth numbers, but aligning the business growth aspirations with our purpose, a Better Life, and even more important, meeting customer expectations.

The COVID-19 crisis and global supply chain constraints weakened an already fragile economy in the last two years, however, UD Trucks Southern Africa managed to keep the business buoyant while growing significantly in emerging markets.

“Our founder Kenzo Adachi’s vision to ‘make the trucks the world needs today’ was actually a vision for smarter logistics. The world today needs less CO2 harmful emissions released into the environment, which is why we launched the Quester and Croner Euro 5 models in 2022, and the Quon in 2019: ahead of local government regulations and manufactured in South Africa since then.

“Through these vehicles, which are much more fuel efficient, are fitted with SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology we have reduced CO2 emissions as well as total cost of ownership. To date, we have produced and sold close to 1 000 Euro 5 units in South Africa, consistently staying one step ahead of local regulations and market demands.

“Later this year the Quon range will receive further upgrades that will improve vehicle safety. With innovation that puts people first, these safety enhancements are set to support a sustainable future. The new Quon safety features, including the traffic eye cruise control helping us achieve Vision Zero – a future with no injuries, deaths or minor injuries from road collisions, and safety for drivers, communities, and other road users.”

“There are many challenges facing both industry and customers and one of the most significant is the rising cost of doing business. Consequently, we focus on providing solutions that will improve efficiency and profitability through our smart logistics approach.

Filip van den Heede

“UD Connected Services helps us achieve this end goal, and our pioneering approach has resulted in enhancements set to limit fuel theft, provide a recovery solution, as well as ensure safety through alcohol detection. In a world of digitalisation, the logistics industry will benefit significantly from these additional features.

“A reliable and knowledgeable workforce is key to innovation, and in 2022 we trained more than 2,000 delegates across our dealer network to improve their skills. Through this process, we guarantee our customer’s uptime and ensure they receive reliable trustworthy service. Additionally, we went the extra mile and provided training to Diesel apprentices.”

UD Trucks SA will also open over three new dealerships this year, increasing its dealer footprint to 40 locations across the country.

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Colin-on-Cars - Thinking caps on

The thinking caps are working overtime in the auto industry in the quest to provide motoring solutions using the least amount of fossil fuels and generally being more enviro-friendly.

While recycling has been a long-used concept, a consortium of 19 industrial companies and research institutes, including the BMW Group, Evonik, Thyssenkrupp, the Fraunhofer Institute, and the Technical University of Munich, has set itself the goal of developing new processes for using sustainable materials for circular automotive production.

The core of the ‘Future Sustainable Car Materials (FSCM)’ initiative launched by BMW is to develop process routes and material concepts for large parts of the value chain, thus enabling a circular economy in vehicle production.

"We are pleased to contribute our specialty chemicals expertise to this pioneering consortium of industry leaders and internationally renowned research institutions to develop circular plastics solutions for the automobiles of tomorrow," says Lauren Kjeldsen, member of the Executive Board of Evonik Operations GmbH and head of the Smart Materials Division.

According to the principle of the circular economy, materials must be kept in the value chain after they have reached the end of their useful life so that new objects, such as automotive parts, can be produced without the use of fossil resources. It is particularly challenging to keep these materials in the cycle while maintaining the same quality and safety properties.

"Our mechanical recycling experts work closely with recyclers to prepare methods for cleaning up plastic parts, such as separating paint at the end of useful life,” says Patrick Glöckner, Head of the Global Circular Plastics Program at Evonik. “We also work with compounders to develop solutions for using the highest possible proportion of recycled plastics in new automotive parts."

On the other side of world, in San Diego, California, solar carmaker, Aptera, is about ready to launch the first in a series that will make the power of the sun a reality.

Steve Fambro, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, explains: “We’ve solved the equation for a more efficient way to travel by harnessing the power of the sun, and we’re excited to introduce our Launch Edition vehicle to the world. Our efforts have resulted in the Aptera vehicle, that can take you where you want to go using the creative energy directly from our sun and efficiently converted into free movement.” 

Aptera’s Launch Edition was created with one purpose in mind — energy efficiency. Its shape, ultra-lightweight, and ultra-strong materials allow Aptera to slip through the air using a quarter of the energy compared to other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today.

Equipped with roughly 700 watts of proprietary solar technology, Aptera drives up to 60 kilometres a day directly from the sun’s rays.

Aptera’s Launch Edition comes integrated with a solar charging package allowing most people to drive for weeks, even months, without ever having to plug in to charge. However, should this be necessary, any standard power outlet in the world becomes a place to charge your vehicle. When plugged into an  outlet, Aptera’s Launch Edition can charge at 13 kilometres an hour or roughly 240 kilometres overnight.

This is only the beginning of Aptera’s plans to move solar mobility forward. After the company’s Launch Edition production line is up and running, Aptera expects eight different assembly plants to be in operation around the globe by 2028.

“While our delivery timeline is funding dependent, our goal is to begin production by the end of 2023,” Chris Anthony, Co-Founder and Co-CEO said. 

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Colin-on-Cars - Say what!

The English language is as versatile as it is sometimes abused and the Americans are offered mocked for their adaptions such as 'erb' for herb, lootenant for lieutenant and the like.

Nearly three quarters of Brits (73%) say they have a good grasp of the English language, yet a new survey has revealed nearly half (47%) study the correct pronunciation online via a search engine to check that they’ve got it right.

The survey of 2,000 adults highlighted 45% also still turn to a dictionary or thesaurus to double check the pronunciation of a word or phrase.

The study, which has been commissioned by leading car manufacturer, Hyundai, coincides with its change from the anglicised pronunciation of ‘Hy-un-dai’ to the global pronunciation: ‘Hyun-day’. A change that marks a new era for Hyundai in the UK, with a tongue in cheek multi-channel advert and collaboration with Anglophile Korean Billy as he adapts to UK living and pronunciation. The research reveals the top 25 most mispronounced words, with parliament, tenterhooks, quinoa and cache making the list.

Ashley Andrew, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor UK, says: “Having updated our brand’s image and pronunciation locally, we wanted to explore pronunciation as a topic more broadly and get people talking about those words that we can potentially struggle with in everyday life, such as quinoa and espresso.

“We have teamed up with Seong-Jae, aka Korean Billy, who is well known for his light-hearted YouTube videos into different dialects within the UK, to explore some British words from Korean standpoint.”

The picture differs across the UK, with those in the North East have admitted to having difficulty with pronouncing ‘probably’ (28%), while the North West trip up over ‘zoology’ (19%) and the West Midlands have struggled with ‘quinoa’ (21%).

There’s also a split when it comes to men and women. The survey discovered more than half of men (51%) think by simplifying words, it will make them easier to pronounce. In comparison, more than half of women (51%) will turn to search engines to seek assurance in saying something correctly.

It also appears there is an unspoken rule when it comes to correcting the way friends pronounce words and phrases, even if we know they might be getting it wrong. Just under a third (29%) have revealed they wouldn’t correct someone else even if they know they had said a word incorrectly.

TOP 25 WORDS BRITS HAVE MISPRONOUNCED

- Quinoa (Ki-no-ah)

- Probably (Probly)

- Espresso (Ex-spres-so)

- Affidavit (Affidavid)

- GIF (JIF)

- Meme (Meh – Meh)

- Tenterhooks (Tenderhooks)

- Cache (Cash-ay)

- Coup de grace (Coo-de-GRAH)

- Zoology (Zu-ol-oh-gee)

- Parliament (Parlament)

- Foyer (Foy-ay)

- Mischievous (Mis-chee-vee-ous)

- Antarctic (Ant-ar-tic)

- Arctic (Ar-tic)

- Library (Lie-berry)

- Mange tout (Manj-eh-towt)

- February (Feb-er-erry)

- Jewellery (Joo-luh-ree)

- Sherbet (Sher-bert)

- Prescription (Perscription)

- Almond (Aal-mund)

- Moot (Mute)

- Coupe (C-oo-p)

- Triathlon (Tri-ath-a-lon)

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Colin-on-Cars - Global hub for spare parts

A truck fleet is only as good as its service backup and Daimler Truck has re-organised its spare parts logistics by opening a new global supply hub in Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

As the heart of the global supply of spare parts, a completely new logistics hub – the so-named Global Parts Center and, in the future parts deliveries will be made from this central location, eliminating additional transport routes and cutting the time until parts are available.

The new logistics hub will deliver up to 300 000 different items – from the smallest screw to a finished truck cab – to almost 3 000 vehicle dealers in 170 countries around the world. The Global Parts Center thus will make an important contribution to ensuring the international flow of goods.

Thanks to state-of-the-art storage and conveyor technology, all vehicle parts will be available for immediate retrieval in an automated high-bay warehouse and an automated small parts warehouse. Construction is scheduled to begin this year, with commissioning scheduled 2028.

Contribution

Karin Rådström, CEO Mercedes-Benz Trucks, says “Halberstadt and the Global Parts Center will play a key role in the future: Spare parts from our new logistics hub will make a significant contribution to keeping our customers and their trucks up and running, thereby delivering on our ambition ‘Trucks you can trust’.”

Jörg Howe, General Representative Daimler Truck AG, responsible for Global Communications & External Affairs, added “Our new Global Parts Center is the biggest logistics project in our company's history. In the future, the Halberstadt site will play a crucial role in keeping our trucks running and thus our economy and society. Without trucks, factories stand still and supermarket shelves remain empty.”

About 2 600 Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ suppliers will provide the logistics hub with their parts in the future so Halberstadt will become the heart of the worldwide supply of spare parts for Mercedes-Benz Trucks. Fuso parts supply in Europe will also be handled by Halberstadt in the future.

In a three-stage logistics process, the new location will serve around 20 regional logistics centres worldwide – in, for example, various European countries, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil and China – which in turn will supply regional dealers with parts.

In the first stage of expansion, the new building in the East Industrial Park in Halberstadt will have a gross floor area of around 270 000 square metres with around 260 000 square metres of logistics space. Up to 450 qualified jobs will be created on site. After further construction stages and the assumption of additional activities in connection with global parts logistics, up to 600 jobs will be created at the site.

Energy

The new logistics location is planned from the start for CO₂-neutral operation; the energy concept completely dispenses with fossil fuels. Neither natural gas nor oil is required. The location will be heated with electric heat pumps that bring heat into the building via underfloor heating systems. Due to the low heating water temperatures and the storage effect in the industrial floors, a high level of energy efficiency will be achieved.

In addition, it is intended to equip the roofs with photovoltaic systems, which can generate up to 13-million kWh of electrical energy per year. This is more electricity than will be consumed at the site. Surplus energy from the Global Parts Center will be made available to other Daimler Truck locations in Germany. The roofs of the outbuildings will be greened.

Employees will be provided with a large number of charging stations for e-vehicles and e-bikes. Appropriate charging options will also be available for suppliers’ trucks, whose fleets are gradually being electrified.

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Colin-on-Cars - Toyota wins Dakar

Dakar 2023 proved a stunning success for South Africa. Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s GR Hilux DKR T1+ stormed to their third Dakar victory for Toyota Gazoo Racing on Sunday as SA cars starred, taking the overall and two class wins. 

South Africans also starred on two wheels, as Argentine Kevin Benavides took a sensational bike win from KTM teammate Toby Price. SA rider Michael Docherty took the rookie bike win, while compatriot and teammate Charan Moore won the no service Malle Moto Original bike class.

Sebastian Loeb

Attiyah and Baumel put in a faultless display to beat Sebastien Loeb’s Prodrive by an hour and 20 minutes with Brazilian rookie sensation Lucas Moraes third. SA crews Giniel de Villiers and Denis Murphy, and Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings fourth and fifth among five SA-built Toyotas in the top ten. Red-Lined cars took a T1.1 class 1-2, and Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar won amongst the T3 SSV rookies.

SA MEN AND MACHINES STARRED AMONG DAKAR’S CARS

Winners, Al Attiyah and Baumel had another perfect run to their third win in a Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux, and Nasser’s fifth Dakar win. Their sheer pace and consistency clearly benefits from their racing all year in the R2R world championship, and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s consistent development in the South African series. Their main rivals race less often.

Once he was finally into the groove, Loeb was relentless and set a record six stage wins in pursuit. The 9-time World Rally champion ended second ahead of a trio of ever-dependable South African Hiluxes. Young Brazilian rookie Lucas Moraes was the find of 2023 and a future Dakar star for sure, alongside legendary navigator Timo Gottschalk in their bright orange Hilux. 

Henk Lategan

SA Dakar legend Giniel de Villiers has now incredibly finished every one of the twenty Dakars he has started. Nineteen of them in the top ten. Fourth this year alongside Dennis Murphy, they came home ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+ teammates and compatriots Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings. Five Hallspeed Toyotas in the top ten is also an immense feather in Hallspeed’s cap.

RED LETTER DAY FOR RED LINED

Dakar 2023 was also huge for South African rally raid carmaker Red-Lined. Its cars dominated the amateur class, as Schröder and Bland took the T1.1 win from Bell and Schutte. All four Red-Lined cars that started the gruelling race finished in the class top 5. Red-Lined Motorsport clearly succeeded in making its gentleman crews’ Dakar dreams come true. 

Century Racing‘s stellar performance fell apart in the final two days. Baragwanath and Cremer’s Factory CR6-T led the T1.2 4x2 class until their penultimate day crash. Ninth placed Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s car suffered engine failure on the final day and had to be towed home to 12th by Baragwanath’s machine. An unhappy end to a stunning performance.

Also considered a car crew, South African GR Rally crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar drove a calm and consistent race to take T3 side by side rookie honours. T3 compatriots Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE South Racing Can Am overcame their occasional challenges to come home a fine 12th overall. 

THE CAR RACE IN REVIEW

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz’ petrol-electric Audi hit the ground running to win the prologue and day 1. Attiyah took Day 2 as Loeb tumbled to 32nd, stuck in the desert without spare tyres. Chicherit’s Prodrive hit back to win Day 3 as Al Attiyah moved into a lead he would never relinquish. Loeb was back to win Day 4 before Al Attiyah consolidated his lead with double wins on Days 5 and 6. 

Saudi hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s horrid week improved with a Day 6 win before Loeb benefited from Sainz’ penalty to win Day 8. Al Attiyah led a Toyota 1-2-3-5 from Lategan, Moraes, Loeb, and de Villiers at the rest day. Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century led the T1.2 4x2’s in eighth, Schröder and Bland’s Red-Lined lead T1.1 as Chicherit sat 16th, Al Rajhi 17th and Sainz 37th, with Peterhansel out.

Week 2 was all about Sebastien Loeb. He took a record six stage wins on the trot in his relentless charge, topped a Prodrive 1-2-3 Tuesday, dominated the marathon on Wednesday and Thursday and moved up to second Friday. He won again on chaotic Saturday as the 4x2 leader Baragwanath crashed. Week 2 also claimed Sainz’s Audi, Zala’s Prodrive, Lionel Baud’s Toyota and Simon Vitse’s MD. 

A BRILLIANT BIKE SPECTACLE

In an incredible bike race, KTM teammates and former winners, Argentine Kevin Benavides, and Aussie Toby Price were tied in the overall lead at 33 kilometres into Sunday’s final stage. Price however slipped to allow Benavides to open up a minute lead by midway. Price duly clawed back a few seconds, but it was not enough to beat the stage and overall winner, Kevin Benavides.

Kevin Benavides

Skyler Howes rode home third for Husqvarna. Pablo Quintanilla ended a close fourth with him, Adrien van Beveren, Luciano Benavides, and second on Sunday, Daniel Sanders all within four minutes. Jose Flormino’s Honda, Lorenzo Santolino’s Sherco and Franco Caimi’s Hero closed off the bike top ten.

Of the South African bikers, 20th on the day 16th overall, overall rookie winner Michael Docherty’s HT Husqvarna ended third in the amateur R2 class behind Romain Dumontier and Paolo Lucci. Iron Mike led the R2 class early on, but a tough third day had him on the back foot. He fought back hard, three times challenging for overall day wins as he clawed back to that much deserved rookie victory.

DOCHERTY WON BIKE ROOKIES, MOORE MALLE MOTO

Michael Docherty

Compatriot and teammate, epic no service Malle Moto Original class winner Charan Moore ended 24th  on Sunday, 29th overall and 12th in amateur R2. Consistently in the Malle Moto fight, he led most of the way but had to fight back after a rough tenth day dropped him back. Malle Moto riders are not allowed backup of any kind and must service their own machines out of small metal box.

Botswana hero Ross Branch started well and ended fourth on day 2 before enduring a disastrous few days including running out of fuel and being stranded in the desert to lose seven hours on Day 4. Ross however fought back back to win two bike stages through week 2 as he brought it home in 26th overall.

Ever consistent Malle Moto hero Stuart Gregory ended a career best 61st and tenth in Malle Moto on his third Dakar finish. South African lady legend Kirsten Landman had a steady, if occasionally exhausting ride to 68th overall and 12th in Malle Moto. SA Dakar rookie, Stevan Wilken finished 69th off his best stage result in 56th on the final day, following a consistent race bar a painful Day 8 tumble.

AN ABSOLUTELY EPIC BIKE RACE IN REVIEW

Charan Moore

The bike race delivered seven different winners in the first seven days. Price took the prologue, Ricky Brabec’s Honda Day 1, and Mason Klein’s KTM Day 2. Sanders, Joan Barreda, van Beveren and Luciano Benavides took Days 3, 4, 5 and 6 as the lead changed consistently. Day 7 was cancelled before Ross Branch bounced back to take Day 8, as Klein led Howes by 40 seconds overall.

Luciano Benavides opened week 2 with a Tuesday win, and Branch took Wednesday as Kevin Benavides led overall, Docherty led the rookies and Moore led Malle Moto. Luciano won again Thursday as Price led Howes by 28 seconds. Ignacio Cornejo’s Honda won Friday and Kevin Benavides Saturday from Docherty to start Sunday’s final stage just 12 seconds behind Price overall.

Kevin Benavides duly took the day to win his second Dakar overall and put KTM back after three years off the top step of the podium. Dakar was cruel as ever, claiming top riders, 2022 winner Sam Sunderland and SA lad Bradley Cox on Day 1, Brabec on Day 2 and Barreda, Mattias Walkner and  Klein in Week 2.

Words: Motorsport Media

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Colin-on-Cars - New season roars in

The new year in South Africa does really get going for the petrolhead fraternity until the Passion for Speed festival at Zwartkops Raceway - scheduled for January 28/28 - where some of finest fast cars will strut their stuff.

Speed is the challenge, but the machine is his weapon. It all started in America with the oval Daytona-type tracks and events in 1950. However, by the sixties big American family cars were racing on road racetracks. The drivers were the heroes of the day. These thunder sound monsters with 350 to 500 Horsepower engines with standard suspension and brakes became the rage.

In South Africa it started in the 7-litre Galaxie (the red monster) which Lee Thompson will be driving followed by the Ford Mustang Commit (Hennie Groenewald), Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt (Mark Du Toit) the Chevs, and Barracudas.

Graeme Nathan will be out for the first time to tame the Chevelle. Franco di Matteo will race the Black Widow in a 1975 Chev Bel-Air. Stiaan Kriel in the black Studebaker Lark. With Hennie Groenewald, Ben Morgenrood Mark du Toit, Lee Thompson, Jaki Scheckter, and Paolo Cavalieri to compete with the big new bangers.

Class B is equally competitive with repeating champion Paige Lindenberg in her grey Ford Fairlane being pushed to the limit by Oliver Broom’s 1965 Ford Mustang and the purple FIA Mustang. Carel Pienaar in his Ford Escort MK1 could just slip by the big bangers.

This is an annual “ONLY FOR THE BRAVE.”

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Colin-on-Cars - The sting in the tail

Saturday’s 154-kilometre stage through the dunes to Al Hofuf would prove a dramatic dream breaker for some. South African T1.2 leaders Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer, who suffered a hard landing, flipped, and damaged their Factory Century. The car was towed out of the stage. Another Century driver, Yannick, was airlifted to hospital after another crash.

Up front, Sebastien Loeb and his navigator Fabian Lurquin stormed to an unprecedented sixth straight Dakar stage win and his seventh of 2023 in their Factory Prodrive Hunter. His relentless pursuit has however hardly made a dent over second place in todays stage, the wholly unflustered Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel who have an hour and 21-minute overall lead in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+.

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel

Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi was third ahead of South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings’ Gazoo Hilux, home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi’s GR Hilux, and best of the 4x2s Jakub Przygonski’s Mini. Rookie sensation Luca Moraes was seventh in his Hilux from Guerlain Chicherit’s Hunter, Juan Yacopini’s Hilux, and SA duo Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings

Outside the top ten, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s second Century recovered to 12th after a difficult start to close on new class leader Wei Han’s 4x2 advantage down to 2 minutes 30. Overall, Attiyah leads Loeb, Moraes, de Villiers and Lategan. Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor sat sixth after a tough day, from Yacopini, up four places overall but closely followed by Han and Serradori.

Thomas Bell and SA navigator Gerhard Schutte led Daniel Schröder and his SA notes man Ryan Bland home to another South African Red-Lined Racing T1.1 amateur class 1-2. Schröder and Bland lead Bell and Schutte in a comfortable Red-Lined 1-2 overall, with all four of the maker’s cars still running into Sunday’s short final stage.

MORE DRAMA IN EPIC BIKE RACE 

As it was in the cars, the bikes also delivered great late Dakar drama. The day started with news that tenth overall US KTM youngster Mason Klein had thrown in the towel after struggling since a Day 9 crash. Then ninth overall KTM factory rider Matthias Walkner crashed heavily, as third overall, teammate Kevin Benavides stopped to help until Walkner was airlifted out.

Kevin Benavides

Benavides would ultimately gain his lost time back, but that kept him invisible through the day.  His pace was however clearly quicker than the men up front. Heroic South African rookie Michael Docherty’s FK Husqvarna led the way from brother Luciano Benavides’ Factory Husqvarna and Adrien van Beveren’s Honda, as overall top two, Price and Howes fought in sixth and seventh.

Docherty ultimately benefited a Luciano Benavides penalty to top the times, with overnight leader Toby Price’s KTM third from Husqvarna privateer Romain Dumontier, second overall Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna, Pablo Quintanilla’s Honda, privateer Tosha Schareina’s KTM and Botswana’s double ‘23 stage winner Ross Branch’s Hero in ninth. Kevin Benavides was provisionally placed 31st overall.

All of which left Price leading Howes overall. But the world awaited news of Kevin Benavides’ corrected time, which ultimately saw him regain over 23 minutes. So, Kevin Benavides not only took the day win, but he also moved up to second overall, just twelve seconds from KTM teammate Price.  Howes sat just a minute and 31 seconds off the pace in third.

SOUTH AFRICANS STAR ALL THE WAY

Another South African, Charan Moore made more waves in the desert sand a little further back. He stormed home 29th on Sunday to move back into a 17 minute overall Malle Moto Original class lead on his R2 FK Husqvarna. Considered the ultimate Dakar iron man adventure, Malle Moto riders are not allowed backup of any kind, and must service their own machines out of small metal box.

Charan Moore

SA lady and gentlemen riders, Stuart Gregory goes into the final day in 63rd overall and tenth in Malle Moto, lady star Kirsten Landman 71st overall and 12th in Malle Moto and rookie Stevan Wilken 73rd overall. Marcelo Medeiros took another quad stage win from Giovanni Enrico and Moreno Flores, but Alexandre Giroud takes a 44-minute lead over Flores going into the final stage on Sunday.

Mitch Guthrie again won the T3 SSV day. SA rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were ninth and Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman 24th. Austin Jones has a strong overall lead with Basson seventh and Minnitt 12th. Second overall, Eryk Goczal beat leader Rokas Baciuska on Sunday, to close Baciuska’s advantage down to 3 minutes 24 in T4 SSV. Janus van Kasteren led the trucks overall. 

A 134 km short, sandy and gravel track road through a pan or two is all that now separates the 2023 field form the Dakar finish in Damman. Judging by Saturday’s late dramas however, it will not be over until that fat lady sings.

Words: Motorsport Media

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Colin-on-Cars - Keeping up the pressure

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb’s ruthless pressure paid off as his fifth straight stage win on Friday moved him up to second overall, an hour and a half behind overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah’s made in South Africa Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux. In a busy day among the cars, the bike race remains on tenterhooks as South African men and machines fly the flag high in Saudi Arabia.

CARS: LOEB TO SECOND OVERALL BEHIND NASSER

The bikes set off early on what again proved to be a fast sandy, pan and dune filled day back to service at Shaybah with the cars also away relatively early. And as it has been ever since racing resumed on Tuesday, it was Loeb and Fabian Lurquin who stormed to their fifth stage win on the trot, and their seventh of twelve 2023 day wins in the Factory Prodrive Hunter.

Sebastian Loeb - chasing hard.

Loeb’s relentless pressure saw him move up to second overall behind runaway leaders, Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, who were third on the day behind Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi. Loeb had languished in 31st after day 2, but his meteoric pace saw him finally pluck second from rookie sensation Lucas Moraes and Timo Gottschalk’s Hilux, when they stopped briefly late on Friday.

There was more of a shake-up behind, as South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux lost 25 minutes at a standstill early in the stage. They slipped to fifth overall behind teammates and SA compatriots, ninth on the day Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy. Consistent Polish crew Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk Ford Raptor also moved up a place to sixth.

T1.2 4x2 leaders, South African Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Factory Century CR6-T lost several minutes early in the day to tumble back to 27th. They fought back to 12th to move up a position to seventh overall as Romain Dumas’ Toyota GR Hilux was delayed. 

Second in T1.2, Wi Han and Wei Li’s SMG in eighth overall is under pressure from sixth on Friday, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier’s second SA-built Factory Century, with Juan Yacopini and Daniel Oliveira’s Hilux tenth. Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s SA-built Red-Lined VK50 leads the T1.1 amateur class ahead of sand master Thomas Bell and SA man Gerhard Schutte’s similar car.

Mathieu Serradori - in the hunt

BIKES: TIGHT AT THE TOP!

All eyes were on the overall top three factory riders: American Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and KTM duo, former winners, Aussie Toby Price, and Argentine Kevin Benavides. Price led Benavides with Howes down in eleventh. Honda rider Ignacio Cornejo however led Benavides and Price, with Howes up to fifth at the final waypoint, but there was a bit of a shake-up in the final sector.

Skyler Howes

While Cornejo held on for the day win, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas appeared out of nowhere to end second ahead of Price, his KTM teammate Matthias Walkner who also came from outside the top ten, Benavides and Howes. Which saw Price into a mere 28 second overall lead from Howes, with Benavides 2 minutes 40 adrift in third. Honda duo Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Benavides are 15 minutes behind.

Of the Southern Africans, Botswana’s double ‘23 stage winner Ross Branch’s Hero ended tenth but sits 29th overall after his week 1 issues. SA hero Michael Docherty’s amateur R2 class FK Husqvarna was 16th on the day to move up to 17th overall and retain his strong rookie lead. Teammate Charan Moore was 32nd to close his Malle Moto second place deficit down to two and a half minutes.

Toby Price

Malle Moto Original is considered the ultimate Dakar class. Riders race without any backup and must service their own machines out of an army-sized chest. Two more South Africans, Malle Moto regular Stuart Gregory is 66th overall and tenth in Malle Moto, lady heroine Kirsten Landman was 75th overall and 12th in Malle Moto. South African rookie Stevan Wilken was 75th overall.

Ignacio Casale beat Guilaume de Mevius and overall leader Austin Jones to Friday’s T3 side-by-side prototype win. SA rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were seventh on the day and seventh overall. 12th overall, SA lads Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were in 20th on Friday. Michal Goczal beat overall leader Rokas Baciuska, Marek and second overall, Eryk Goczal to the T4 side by side win.

Runaway overall quad leader Alexandre Giroud lost 26 minutes as Marcelo Medeiros beat Juraj Varga and Giovanni Enrico to the Day 12 win. And overall leaders Janus van Kasteren, Darek Rodewald and Marcel Snijder’s Iveco took the Friday win from third overall and second man Martin Macik’s similar trucks.

Just 290 kilometres and two days remain of Dakar 2023, with 154 of those through the dunes from Shaybah to Al Hofuf on Saturday. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3ZCV4nY

Colin-on-Cars - Showdown in the desert

Dakar 2023 continued to deliver epic action as competitors fought on through the Arabian Desert on Thursday. 9-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb continued to pile on the pressure through Day 11 as he took his fourth stage win on the trot. Car leader Nasser Al Attiyah however held strong up front as South African cars dominate. It was a game of cat and mouse in a tight bike race.

Thursday’s 274 km run into the literal middle of nowhere across the Empty Quarter’s dunes and dried up pans served as the first part of Dakar 2023’s two-day no service marathon stage. Which meant that crews took it relatively easy as they headed to their secret, isolated overnight desert bivouac.

It's Loeb (top) versus Al-Attiyah in the desert duel

CARS: NASSER SOAKS UP LOEB’S PRESSURE

In the hope of pressurising the leading Toyotas into a problem, Loeb and Fabian Lurquin continued to push flat out up front in their Prodrive Factory Hunter. Shadowed by Guerlain Chicherit’s similar Prodrive machine, and Mattias Ekstrom’s surviving Audi RS Q e-Tron quattro, their pace was relentless.

Fourth home, Brazilian rookie sensation Lucas Moraes and Timo Gottschalk did enough to keep ahead of the flying Loeb in second overall. Their dice for second should prove epic as the race winds down towards Sunday’s finish. Loeb took six minutes out of Moraes on the day, to cut his overall deficit to second overall to under ten minutes. 

Behind Moraes, overall leaders Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel consolidated their handy hour and 21-minute overall lead with fifth on the day in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux DKR T1+. They came home ahead of two more GR Toyota Hiluxes, SA teammates Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings and Yazeed Al Rajhi, and best of the 4x2s, Mathieu Serradori’s SA-built Century CR6-T.

Henk Lategan

There’s no change in the top five cars overall as Al Attiyah continues to lead Moraes, Loeb, Lategan and SA legend Giniel De Villiers. Martin Prokop is up to sixth in his Ford Raptor, from former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas in another GR Hilux. SA duo Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer still lead T1.2 4x2’s in their Century CR6-T.

Runaway amateur T1.1 overall leaders, Daniel Schröder and SA notes man Ryan Bland’s PS Laser Red-Lined VK50 held a strong advantage class on the road with Thomas Bell and SA navigator Gerhard Schutte’s similar machine in hot pursuit. This means that South African designed, built and developed machinery continues to lead three of Dakar’s four car classes.

BIKES: CAT & MOUSE UP FRONT

It was another day of cat and mouse in the bikes. Overall leaders, Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and KTM duo Toby Price and Kevin Benavides are duking it out for the Dakar 2023 win. Price was fourth on the day from Howes in fifth, with Benavides five minutes behind in 11th. That was enough to see Howes back into a 28 second lead from Price with overnight leader Benavides third, two minutes and 44 seconds adrift.

Luciano Benavides (top) and Toby Price

Sixth overall, brother Luciano Benavides took his third stage win of the year on his Husqvarna from seventh man Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Price, Howes; fourth overall Pablo Quintanilla’s Honda and Sebastian Bühler’s Hero. Fifth overall, Adrien van Beveren languished in 17th after being the second bike to open the road. Wednesday’s winner, Botswana’s Ross Branch also struggled to 19th.

Third to set off, rookie bike leader, SA hero Michael Docherty rode home 16th overall and second in amateur R2 on his FK Husqvarna. Compatriot and teammate Charan Moore had a tough day to 48th as he slipped to second in no service Malle Moto overall. SA trio, Stuart Gregory was 68th to move up to 8th in Malle Moto, Rookie Stevan Wilken was 81st and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 86th.

Joao Ferreira led the T3 side-by-side prototypes from Mitch Guthrie, after leader Guilaume de Mevius hit trouble. That allowed Red Bull duo Austin Jones to move ahead of Seth Quintero overall. SA duo Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE Can Am sat 14th while rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar were 22nd in their GR Rally.

Local hero Yasir Seaidan led South Can Am teammate Cristiano Batista and overall leader Rokas Baciuska in the T4 side by sides. Marcelo Medeiros took quad honours from overall top two Alexandre Giroud and Moreno Flores. And Dutch Iveco trio, Martin and Mitchel van den Brink sandwiched overall truck leader Janus van Kasteren on the road. 

Friday’s 185 km second half of the marathon stage is another sandy, pan and dune filled day back to service at Shaybah. Before two more days to the finish on Sunday. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3iyRJFD

Colin-on-Cars - Branching out

It was a red-letter day 10 for Southern African bikers and cars at Dakar 2023, as Botswana’s Ross Branch scored his second stage win in three days, while SA rider Mike Docherty moved into the rookie bike lead with third overall. He joins compatriot Malle Moto rider Charan Moore in leading his class, while SA cars continue to dominate, leading three of the four car classes with four days left to race.

Ross Branch

Sand, sand and more sand: Comprising of 95% dunes, Wednesday’s 114 km stage from Haradh which ventured deep into the bowls of the Empty Quarter to Shaybah caused much intrigue. Bikers were up at 4am to take on sub 8° temperatures and a 470km liaison section, it was a shorter stage than most care to remember on the Dakar, but it was expected to be extreme.

It however turned out to be a short, sharp, and relatively easy stage by Dakar standards, with the first bike home in just an hour and 44 minutes after the start. 

LOEB WINS DAY 10

Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin continued in their relentless pursuit of a first Dakar Rally win for the 9-time World Rally Champion. However, Loeb’s mesmerising pace would hardly put a dent on the overall rankings. 

Sebastian Loeb

Barring a disaster in the last quarter, fourth on the day, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah is well on his way to his fifth Dakar victory, and his third for the South African Toyota Gazoo Racing team alongside Mathieu Baumel in their Hilux DKR T1+.

They Qatari veteran followed Loeb, DTM ace Mattias Ekstrom, and second overall, rookie sensation Lukas Moraes in another Hilux. Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi was fifth on Wednesday ahead of rear wheel drive winner Jakub Przygonski’s Mini, Henk Lategan’s Hilux and Mathieu Serradori’s SA built 4x2 Century CR6-T.

Lukas Moraes

Besides a little movement in the gaps, there was no change in the overall top ten. Attiyah leads Moraes by an hour and 20 minutes, with Loeb a further 16 minutes adrift in third. Toyota trio, SA Gazoo Racing crews Henk Lategan, Giniel De Villiers and former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas follow from Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk in a Ford Raptor.

Another all-South African crew, eighth placed Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century CR6-T leads the rear-wheel drive T1.2 class. Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s PS Laser Red-Lined VK50 lead the amateur T1.1 class with teammates Tom Bell and SA’s Gerhard Schutte third. Which leaves South African made race cars leading three of Dakar 2023’s four car classes.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN BIKERS DOMINATE

Botswana’s Ross Branch on his Factory Hero and South African Michael Docherty’s R2 amateur class FK Husqvarna were in the mix from the get-go on Wednesday. Docherty initially led Factory Honda duo Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, who were closely trailed by Kevin Benavides’ KTM and Branch. Branch made steady progress to move ahead of van Beveren, Docherty, Benavides and Matthias Walkner’s KTM to win.

Further back, overall top two Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and Toby Price’s KTM struggled to open the road as Howes led Price home by 34 seconds to consolidate his advantage. But it was Kevin Benavides passed them both to now lead Howes by a minute and a half overall, with Price a further 40 seconds adrift, over 3,000 km into Dakar 2023!

Docherty is back into the top 20 overall in 19th, as he now leads the motorcycle rookie rankings by all of 3 minutes and is up to fourth in R2. SA Malle Mote Hero Charan Moore finished 52nd after a tough day, but he’d crucially done enough to hold onto his 21 minute overall no service class lead.

Fellow South Africans, Stevan Wilken rode in 75th on Wednesday, Stuart Gregory 76th and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 79th. Gregory is up to 67th overall and 10th in Malle Moto, Landman 76th overall and 12th in Malle Moto, and rookie Wilken 78th overall. Marcelo Madieros took the quad stage from  Manuel Andujar and Giovanni Enrico, with overall leader Alexandre Giroud fifth on Wednesday.

Seth Quintero and former quad winner Ignacio Casale fought it out for T3 side-by-side prototype honours, while Guilaume de Mevius kept Austin Jones in check overall. South African crews, rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar ran 14th to retain their 7th overall. 12th overall Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were 20th on the day.

Gerard Farres Guell led Eryk and Marek Goczal in the T4 side by sides as Eryk Goczal slashed overall leader Rokas Baciuska’s advantage down to just 3 minutes 40 seconds with four days left to race. New overall leader Janus van Kasteren’s Iveco also led the trucks on Wednesday after overall leader Ales Loprais withdrew his Praga from the race due to a tragic incident which claimed the life of a spectator.

Thursday’s varied 274 km stage deep into the Empty Quarter is the first half of this year’s marathon stage. Crews are not allowed service assistance and will be in isolation overnight in a Camp in the desert.

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3isYgSj

Colin-on-Cars - The desert bites back

The second week of Dakar bit hard as crews returned to action on Tuesday. Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and navigator Fabien Lurquin took their fourth stage win of the race at the top of a Prodrive Hunter 1-2-3. Loeb continues in his relentless pursuit of comfortable overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s TSA-built Gazoo Racing Toyota Hilux.

Sebastian Loeb

It’s not that simple in the bikes, however. Luciano Benavides’ Husqvarna took the day from Toby Price’s KTM, which closed third place Skyler Howes and his Husqvarna’s overall lead down to just three seconds after 3,000 km of racing! South African riders, Malle Moto leader Charan Moore and second in the rookies, Michael Docherty continued to star.

CARS: LOEB WINS, NASSER STILL IN CONTROL

Week 2 started with Tuesday’s 358 km stage comprising mainly of gravel roads and tracks, with a few dunes lurking towards the end of the day at Haradh. Lower altitudes were said to favour the rear wheel drive cars, which do not enjoy turbo boost compensation, as the 4x4s do. And with 7% of rocks announced, punctures were inevitable as teams pondered the best tyre pressure strategy.

Prodrive was clearly on a mission. Loeb, Chicherit and Zala’s Prodrives led the rear wheel drive trio of Jakub Przygonski’s Mini, Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori’s Century CR6-T, South African Brian Baragwanath’s Century CR6-T, and Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi.

Overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah was initially the best of the SA-built Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes in a row in eighth, ahead of second overall Lucas Moraes, Le Mans winner Romain Dumas and South Africans Giniel De Villiers and Dennis Murphy.

Giniel de Villiers

The week did not start well for Carlos Sainz Sr. and Lucas Cruz when they rolled their Audi RS Q e-Tron quattro into retirement only five kilometres into the stage. Second overall, South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cumming’s factory Gazoo Toyota was also in trouble but only lost 40 minutes thanks to Saudi home hero, Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk von Zitzewitz’s stopping to assist in their Hilux. 

It was tight up front with 12 minutes covering the top 20 cars at mid distance. The field also shuffled significantly through the morning as crews struggled to find the way. Zala led Loeb, Ekstrom and Dumas, but it was Loeb from Zala and Serradori at the next point.

Loeb duly fought Zala off, with Chicherit third for a Prodrive 1-2-3 from Ekstrom’s surviving Audi. Dumas was the first Toyota home in fifth, ahead of Przygonski’s 4x2 Mini, de Villiers, Attiyah, Sebastain Halpern’s Mini, and Moraes in tenth. The Centuries had a tough day. Baragwanath fought home in 11th as Serradori lost 33 minutes. Lategan ultimately dropped 53 minutes.

This all means that Al Attiyah now leads the overall standings by just over an hour ahead of Brazilian rookie, Lucas Moraes, who has really made an impression thus far. Relentless Loeb’s fourth Dakar 2023 stage win sees him move up to third, a further 28 minutes clear of the hapless Lategan, de Villiers and Dumas making it five SA-built Toyotas in the top ten. Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor is seventh from Baragwanath’s SA built 4x2 Century.

All-Chinese crew Wei Han and Mai Li’s Hanwei SMG sits ninth from Juan Cruz Yacopini’s sixth SA made Toyota in tenth. Still running as we wrote, class leaders Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s SA-built Red-Lined VK50 led the T1.1 amateur class with Tom Bell and another SA navigator Gerhard Schutte second and 41st overall.

JUST AS TOUGH IN THE BIKES

Tough conditions up front and tricky virgin road navigation challenged Sunday’s bike frontrunners, who struggled to open the road. Mason Klein’s KTM, Honda Riders Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Botswana’s Ross Branch on his Hero and SA rookie Michael Docherty’s Husqvarna all got lost and tumbled down the day’s order. 

That left Toby Price, who started 17th on his Factory KTM, and Husqvarna counterpart Luciano Benavides, who set off 21st, trading the stage lead. Husqvarna duo R2 privateer Toni Mulec and overall leader Skyler Howes, fought over third and fourth. 

They took early advantage of finding their rivals returning from getting lost to lead the day. It went even worse for eighth overall, the hapless Joan Barreda who crashed out of the Dakar yet again after 16 km. He was airlifted to hospital in Riyadh. Third overall, Klein also fell and lost his roadbook.

Luciano Benavides

Luciano Benavides hung on for the win ahead of Price, Howes, Jose Florimo’s Honda, Kevin Benavides’ KTM and rookie Mulec. Van Beveren ended 12th, Quintanilla 18th, Sanders was 20th, SA hero Docherty 21st, Klein 23rd and Branch 28th. Overall, Howes leads Price by just three seconds after 3,000 km of racing! Kevin Benavides is five minutes back with Quintanilla and Klein more than 15 minutes adrift.

Of the SA riders, Docherty is 20th overall, second of the rookies by 9 minutes, and fifth in amateur R2. HK Husqvarna teammate and compatriot Charan Moore delivered another epic Malle Moto no service win to open up his lead in the Dakar Original class to over 23 minutes. 

Fellow South Africans, Stefan Wilken in 68th, and Malle Moto duo, Stuart Gregory and Kirsten Landman, were still racing in 83rd and 90th at the time of writing. Gregory was a virtual 68th overall,  Landman 78th and Wilken 80th as we wrote. The quads were also still running as outsiders Laisvydas Kancius and Marcelo Meredius led second overall Moreno Flores and overall leader Alexandre Giroud.

Elsewhere, Mitch Guthrie led the surprising Dania Akeel and overall leader Guilaume de Mevius in the T3 Prototype side by sides. SA crew, rookie leaders and 7th overall, Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar’s GR Rally sat third on the day. 13th overall, another SA duo Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE Can Am was running in 11th on Tuesday.

Up to a virtual second overall, Eryk Goczal led T4 side by side leader Rokas Baciuska and Jermais Gonzalez at the time of writing. And second overall Janus van Kasteren, Darek Rodewald and Marcel Snijders’ Iveco led Jaroslav Valtr’s Praga as overall leader Ales Loprais’ similar machine sat 7th among the trucks.

It’s a murderous 114 km of sand, sand, and more sand on Wednesday’s tenth Dakar 2023 stage from Haradh to Shaybah on Wednesday. The perfect scenario to turn the race once again on its head. 

Words: Motorsport Media

https://bit.ly/3CD5vOb

Colin-on-Cars - The desert bites back

The second week of Dakar bit hard as crews returned to action on Tuesday. Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and navigator Fabien Lurquin took their fourth stage win of the race at the top of a Prodrive Hunter 1-2-3. Loeb continues in his relentless pursuit of comfortable overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s TSA-built Gazoo Racing Toyota Hilux.

Sebastian Loeb

It’s not that simple in the bikes, however. Luciano Benavides’ Husqvarna took the day from Toby Price’s KTM, which closed third place Skyler Howes and his Husqvarna’s overall lead down to just three seconds after 3,000 km of racing! South African riders, Malle Moto leader Charan Moore and second in the rookies, Michael Docherty continued to star.

CARS: LOEB WINS, NASSER STILL IN CONTROL

Week 2 started with Tuesday’s 358 km stage comprising mainly of gravel roads and tracks, with a few dunes lurking towards the end of the day at Haradh. Lower altitudes were said to favour the rear wheel drive cars, which do not enjoy turbo boost compensation, as the 4x4s do. And with 7% of rocks announced, punctures were inevitable as teams pondered the best tyre pressure strategy.

Prodrive was clearly on a mission. Loeb, Chicherit and Zala’s Prodrives led the rear wheel drive trio of Jakub Przygonski’s Mini, Frenchmen Mathieu Serradori’s Century CR6-T, South African Brian Baragwanath’s Century CR6-T, and Mattias Ekstrom’s Audi.

Overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah was initially the best of the SA-built Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes in a row in eighth, ahead of second overall Lucas Moraes, Le Mans winner Romain Dumas and South Africans Giniel De Villiers and Dennis Murphy.

Giniel de Villiers

The week did not start well for Carlos Sainz Sr. and Lucas Cruz when they rolled their Audi RS Q e-Tron quattro into retirement only five kilometres into the stage. Second overall, South Africans Henk Lategan and Brett Cumming’s factory Gazoo Toyota was also in trouble but only lost 40 minutes thanks to Saudi home hero, Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk von Zitzewitz’s stopping to assist in their Hilux. 

It was tight up front with 12 minutes covering the top 20 cars at mid distance. The field also shuffled significantly through the morning as crews struggled to find the way. Zala led Loeb, Ekstrom and Dumas, but it was Loeb from Zala and Serradori at the next point.

Loeb duly fought Zala off, with Chicherit third for a Prodrive 1-2-3 from Ekstrom’s surviving Audi. Dumas was the first Toyota home in fifth, ahead of Przygonski’s 4x2 Mini, de Villiers, Attiyah, Sebastain Halpern’s Mini, and Moraes in tenth. The Centuries had a tough day. Baragwanath fought home in 11th as Serradori lost 33 minutes. Lategan ultimately dropped 53 minutes.

This all means that Al Attiyah now leads the overall standings by just over an hour ahead of Brazilian rookie, Lucas Moraes, who has really made an impression thus far. Relentless Loeb’s fourth Dakar 2023 stage win sees him move up to third, a further 28 minutes clear of the hapless Lategan, de Villiers and Dumas making it five SA-built Toyotas in the top ten. Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor is seventh from Baragwanath’s SA built 4x2 Century.

All-Chinese crew Wei Han and Mai Li’s Hanwei SMG sits ninth from Juan Cruz Yacopini’s sixth SA made Toyota in tenth. Still running as we wrote, class leaders Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s SA-built Red-Lined VK50 led the T1.1 amateur class with Tom Bell and another SA navigator Gerhard Schutte second and 41st overall.

JUST AS TOUGH IN THE BIKES

Tough conditions up front and tricky virgin road navigation challenged Sunday’s bike frontrunners, who struggled to open the road. Mason Klein’s KTM, Honda Riders Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Botswana’s Ross Branch on his Hero and SA rookie Michael Docherty’s Husqvarna all got lost and tumbled down the day’s order. 

That left Toby Price, who started 17th on his Factory KTM, and Husqvarna counterpart Luciano Benavides, who set off 21st, trading the stage lead. Husqvarna duo R2 privateer Toni Mulec and overall leader Skyler Howes, fought over third and fourth. 

They took early advantage of finding their rivals returning from getting lost to lead the day. It went even worse for eighth overall, the hapless Joan Barreda who crashed out of the Dakar yet again after 16 km. He was airlifted to hospital in Riyadh. Third overall, Klein also fell and lost his roadbook.

Luciano Benavides

Luciano Benavides hung on for the win ahead of Price, Howes, Jose Florimo’s Honda, Kevin Benavides’ KTM and rookie Mulec. Van Beveren ended 12th, Quintanilla 18th, Sanders was 20th, SA hero Docherty 21st, Klein 23rd and Branch 28th. Overall, Howes leads Price by just three seconds after 3,000 km of racing! Kevin Benavides is five minutes back with Quintanilla and Klein more than 15 minutes adrift.

Of the SA riders, Docherty is 20th overall, second of the rookies by 9 minutes, and fifth in amateur R2. HK Husqvarna teammate and compatriot Charan Moore delivered another epic Malle Moto no service win to open up his lead in the Dakar Original class to over 23 minutes. 

Fellow South Africans, Stefan Wilken in 68th, and Malle Moto duo, Stuart Gregory and Kirsten Landman, were still racing in 83rd and 90th at the time of writing. Gregory was a virtual 68th overall,  Landman 78th and Wilken 80th as we wrote. The quads were also still running as outsiders Laisvydas Kancius and Marcelo Meredius led second overall Moreno Flores and overall leader Alexandre Giroud.

Elsewhere, Mitch Guthrie led the surprising Dania Akeel and overall leader Guilaume de Mevius in the T3 Prototype side by sides. SA crew, rookie leaders and 7th overall, Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar’s GR Rally sat third on the day. 13th overall, another SA duo Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman’s HBE Can Am was running in 11th on Tuesday.

Up to a virtual second overall, Eryk Goczal led T4 side by side leader Rokas Baciuska and Jermais Gonzalez at the time of writing. And second overall Janus van Kasteren, Darek Rodewald and Marcel Snijders’ Iveco led Jaroslav Valtr’s Praga as overall leader Ales Loprais’ similar machine sat 7th among the trucks.

It’s a murderous 114 km of sand, sand, and more sand on Wednesday’s tenth Dakar 2023 stage from Haradh to Shaybah on Wednesday. The perfect scenario to turn the race once again on its head. 

https://bit.ly/3CD5vOb

Colin-on-Cars - Al-Attiyah still on top

Dakar 2023’s opening week has been a stunning success for South African men and machines, with incredible results across all categories. SA-built cars lead three of Dakar’s four car categories to the traditional midway rest day, as South African riders led the way among the two wheelers too.

Nasser Al-Attiyah

2022 car winners, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Racing Hilux leads a proudly South African built Toyota 1-2-3 overall. Five SA Hiluxes occupy the top six after the first half of the race. South Africans, Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century also leads the T1.2 4x2 class. German Daniel Schröder and his South African navigator, Ryan Bland,  also lead the amateur T1.1 4x4 car class in their South African built PS Red-Lined VK50 .

Sunday was a red letter day for Southern Africans on two wheels too. Botswana star Ross Branch stormed to victory amongst the bikes. SA rookie Michael Docherty was sixth to take the day in the amateur R2 class and slash his rookie class second overall to just five minutes behind leader Neels Theric. 33rd overall, Charan Moore took yet another Malle Moto win to consolidate his lead in the no service class.

Ross Branch

CARS: SOUTH AFRICAN DOMINATION

Navigation and opening the road up front appeared difficult on Sunday. Saturday’s car top five languished well down the order at mid distance. 31st place starters Carlos Sainz Sr. and Lucas Cruz’ Audi RS Q e-Tron led the way from overall leader Al Attiyah, and Sebastien Loeb in his Prodrive Hunter. Loeb later overtook Al Attiyah for second. 

Sainz’ woes continued as a speeding penalty cost him an almost certain stage win. Loeb therefore won the stage ahead of Al Attiyah and penalty-stricken veteran, Carlos Sainz Sr. in third. SA duo Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were fourth as top ten runners, Romain Dumas and Max Delfino Dumas ended ninth, with Baragwanath 20th and Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux 21st.

So, Al Attiyah leads a Toyota 1-2-3 by an hour from Lategan and rookie Moraes. Loeb has clawed back to fourth, seconds clear of de Villiers. Le Mans winner Dumas makes it five SA Hiluxes in the top six from Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor in seventh and Baragwanath and Cremer’s SA-built Century that leads the T1.2 4x2 class in eighth overall.  Schröder and Bland’s SA Red-Lined also leads the amateur T1.1 4x4s. 

Looking back at the first week, the petrol-electric Audis hit the ground running. WRC legend Sainz took both the prologue and day 1 in the Audi. Al-Attiyah then won Day 2 as Sainz stayed ahead overall. Guerlain Chicherit’s Hunter took Day 3 as Attiyah in 13th moved into a lead he would not relinquish. Loeb then bounced back from his trouble the previous day to win on Wednesday.

Al Attiyah then consolidated his lead with double wins Thursday and Friday. Toyota GR Hilux duo, Saudi hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk van Zitzewitz hit back from a horrid week to win on Saturday before Loeb benefited from Sainz’ penalty to take a second win on Sunday.

Of the pros, Serradori sits 12th, Al Rajhi provisionally 17th, Prodrive trio Chicherit in 16th, Vaidotas Zala 39th and Orlando Terranova has retired. Sainz’ progress is scant reward after Dakar’s first week was particularly cruel to the highly vaunted petrol electric Audi team. He sits 37th overall with Ekstrom struggling and Stephane Peterhansel out after a disastrous first week.

Henk Lategan

BIKES: SA HEROES BRANCH, DOCHERTY, MOORE WIN

Sunday was also splendid for Southern Africa on two wheels. Botswana’s Ross Branch put a torrid first week behind him to take a storming win on his Hero. He ended a minute and 33 seconds clear of Mason Klein’s KTM, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien van Beveren’s Hondas, and SA rookie and R2 amateur class winner, Michael Docherty on his FK Husqvarna.

Branch and Docherty were in the mix from early Sunday, with Ross second behind Klein, and ahead of Sanders and Docherty. Branch moved into the lead as Pro riders, van Beveren on a Honda and Hero man Seb Bühler moved past Docherty as the morning wore on, but Iron Mike fought back to end sixth. 

South Africa’s no service Malle Moto Original class leader Charan Moore meanwhile enjoyed another productive ride to 33rd overall. Compatriots, Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory was 80th, rookie Stevan Wilken 86th, and Iron Lady heroine Kirsten Landman 89th.

Kirsten Landman

The bike race has delivered exceptional racing with eight winners in eight days of racing. Toby Price’s KTM took the prologue before Ricky Brabec won day 1 on his Honda and then Klein took Monday’s race to lead overall. Sanders won on Tuesday, as Joan Barreda’s Honda then took Wednesday ‘s win as Sanders led overall.

Adrien van Beveren won Day 6 as the consistent American Skyler Howes took the overall lead on his Husqvarna. His teammate Luciano Benavides took Friday’s win as Howes stayed ahead overall. Saturday’s bike race was cancelled, before Branch made it 8 out of 8. Klein moved a mere 40 seconds clear of Howes overall, with Benavides, Price, Quintanilla, and van Beveren within 5 minutes of the lead.

Michael Docherty got off to a flying start early in the week, mixing it up with the pros up front, before struggling a little on the tough third and fourth days. He regrouped and forged back to second among the rookies. A fired up Sunday run saw him back up front to end sixth as he climbed to a provisional 21st overall at the rest day.

Charan Moore took control of Malle Moto from the get-go, winning the no service class on the prologue and four of the first seven days to emerge a comfortable original leader on Friday before Saturday’s stage was cancelled. 33rd on Sunday, he won Malle Moto again to sit 31st overall. Ross Branch suffered a dreadful midweek, before winning on Sunday to claw back to 35th overall.

Although exhausted by Friday, amateur SA Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory and Kirsten Landman starred throughout. They sit 10th and 12th in the no service class, and 68th and 77th overall. Rookie Stevan Wilken had a clean run until a fall on Friday, but he bounced back to 80th overall.

Dakar has also been cruel to the bikers. 2022 winner Sam Sunderland and SA amateur Bradley Cox crashed out on Day 1. Sunday winner Brabec went out Monday and Hero rider Joaquim Rodriguez was one of ten bike retirements on Thursday. Sherco pro Rui Goncalves went out Friday, while Dakar has not been kind to troubled Hero duo Branch and Seb Bühler, among others.

Michael Docherty

EPIC ACTION IN ALL DAKAR CLASSES

Elsewhere, Christina Gutierrez Herrero took the T3 side-by-side prototype prologue. Red Bull teammates Francisco Lopez Contardo won Day 2, Mitch Guthrie day 3 and Austin Jones day 4. Guthrie won Thursday, and Seth Quintero Friday before Guilaume de Mevius broke the Red Bull stranglehold on Friday. Guthrie took a third win on Saturday and Joao Ferreira took the Sunday win.

Overall, de Mevius and Francois Casalet’s GR Racing leads a Red Bull throng of Jones, Quintero and Contardo after form man Guthrie fell well down after several issues. 7th placed  South African crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar enjoyed a strong week to lead the T3 rookies in their GR Rally, with compatriots Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman 14th in their HBE Can Am.

Rokas Baciuska leads Marek and Eryk Goczal in the T4 side-by-sides. Baciuska won the prologue before teen sensation Eryk Goczal took Day 1 and dad Marek Goczal won Day 2. Cristian Batista won Tuesday, Eryk Goczal Wednesday, and Baciuska took Thursday’s stage. Marek won Friday, Baciuska Saturday, and Jeremias Gonzalez on Sunday. Mozambican Paulo Oliveira and Miguel Alberty sit 26th overall.

Dominant throughout the early days, Frenchman Alexandre Giroud took control of the quads. He then rolled back the throttle to control the pace over Pablo Copetti, Friday winner Moreno Flores, Saturday and Sunday winner Manuel Andujar, and rookie Juraj Varga overall.

Ales Loprais, Petr Pokora and Jaroslav Valr’s Praga leads the trucks overall from Martin van den Brink and Janus van Kasteren’s Ivecos. Martin Macik’s Iveco took the Prologue and Day 1 before Loprais won on Monday. Gert Huznik’s Iveco won on Tuesday before retiring on Wednesday when Macik won again. Loprais, van den Brink, van Kasteren and Macik took the next four stage wins.

Monday’s rest day will bring a much needed recharge to the four-wheeler crews after eight gruelling days of racing, while the bikers will enjoy their second day off in three. The action resumes on Tuesday with a rather different and mainly gravel 358 km long track. Tuesday’s stage will be the ninth of 14 stages to Haradh, where a few dunes will test crews toward the finish. 

Words: Motorsport Media

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