CONSISTENCY FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing CREWS ON DAKAR 2020 STAGE 5
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews performed steadily on Stage 5 of the 2020 Dakar Rally as the race moved from the spectacular scenery around Al Ula to the north-western agricultural city of Ha’il. While the mostly sandy terrain meant fewer punctures, the crews’ consistent performance did not deliver the race result improvements anticipated.
Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel led the charge in the Toyota Hilux, posting the second fastest time on the 353-kilometre special stage despite being the second car on the road. The crew took the lead when the leader stopped because of a puncture, but were unable to capitalise on the road opening position. The new road book format, issued to the crews minutes before the start, meant Nasser and Mathieu could not adequately prepare and find the route in tricky conditions. The crew crossed the finish line 2min 56sec back from the leaders in second place and reported a largely clean run, sustaining only one slow puncture in the final 100 kilometres of the stage. They elected to push themselves to minimise time loss but still saw their gap to the leaders overall increase to 5min 59sec.
Choosing to preserve their tyres on the rocky sections of the stage to avoid more punctures, Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro lost 11min 46sec on Stage 5. Unfortunately, the strategy cost them more time than anticipated and was made worse when Giniel hurt his neck after an awkward landing just 50 kilometres from stage end. Although not a severe injury, the crew decided to slow down to avoid exacerbating the injury. The crew holds on to their seventh place overall falling back to 46min 26sec behind the leaders.
Bernhard ten Brinke and Tom Colsoul lost valuable time on the stage despite running higher up in the starting order in the first section. Although the pair suffered no punctures, they lost time searching for the waypoint in the middle of the stage. The good news for the crew is that Bernhard is clearly on the mend, recovering from the flu that affected them since Stage 4. Their Stage 5 time was good enough for 12th on the day and they retain their eighth position overall, dropping back to 1hrs 4min 54sec from the lead.
It was a positive Stage 5 for Fernando Alonso and navigator Marc Coma who posted the seventh fastest time of the day just 37 seconds behind their more experienced teammates, Giniel and Alex. The pair suffered some time loss near the start of the stage due to poor visibility following the dust kicked up by slower competitors. Still, the duo managed to pass several competitors and found a good rhythm towards the end of the stage. Fernando and Marc continue their upward recovery, moving up to 18th place in the overall standings, 3hrs 11min 50sec from the leaders, despite suffering two punctures.
More sand is expected on Stage 6 which takes crews from Ha’il to the Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh which also marks the half-way point of the 2020 Dakar Rally. The 477-kilometre special stage will start with a fast section before changing scenery once again to sand dunes which should suit the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews. The total route of 830-kilometres is the longest day so far so the Rest Day on the following day will be a welcome relief for all involved.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “Another really big day on the Dakar Rally. We have one day to go before the Rest Day and I really hoped that we would be in the lead at this point. In fact, today we’ve gone in the opposite direction, even though Nasser had a fantastic stage. He had to open most of the route and we know how difficult that is. The closed road book meant it was impossible to prepare, but I think Mathieu did a fantastic job.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “It was a good day for us and I’m happy; but it was not easy for anyone today. We were racing with two competitors at the front, and they were helping each other, making it difficult for us. But still, we’ll see how things develop. For now, I’m quite happy. They’ll be opening the stage tomorrow, and I’m sure I’ll be able to catch them and close the gap by at least three minutes. But it’s still a long way to go, and for now we just need to remain in the top positions. Next week is going to be difficult so we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “It was a very tough day for us today. Lots of sand, dunes and camel grass for 250 kilometres; it was really tricky. The first 100 kilometres were really fast, but then we reached some rocks and I was maybe a little bit too cautious in that section so we lost some time there. Then, at the last 50 kilometres I had to slow down, because I had just tweaked my neck slightly on one of the bumps. Otherwise, we had a good stage without any problems and I’m happy with the car.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “I feel quite good today, although my voice is still quite bad. It’s probably good for Tom because I can’t shout at him. Today started really well for us and by the first neutralisation we were up to fifth or sixth. The pace was good, but then we lost some time due to navigation in the second part. No punctures today and the Hilux was very good. Unfortunately, we lost some valuable time, but that’s part of the game.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “Today was a good stage for us. In terms of pace, I think this was probably my best stage at the Dakar Rally so far. We are confident with the Hilux and we had a good rhythm, especially in the sandy places towards the end of the stage. We started further back on the road, which is a disadvantage in terms of dust, especially in the beginning; but it helps with finding the route later on in the stage. It would have been nice to be slightly higher up in the stage results, but we do want to start a little further back tomorrow, as we are expecting some dunes. Overall I’m very happy with today’s performance.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 5 Results:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +2min 56sec
6th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +11min 46sec
7th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +12min 23sec
12th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +20min 14sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Day 5:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +5min 59sec
7th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +46min 26sec
8th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +1hr 4min 54sec
18th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +3hrs 11min 50sec
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’S NASSER AL-ATTIYAH HALVES GAP TO LEAD ON DAKAR STAGE 4
Reigning Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel completed the gruelling 453-kilometre Stage 4 between Neom and Al Ula, posting a time of just 2min 26sec slower than the leaders. The pair were the fifth car to start the stage and the made most of their road position, posting competitive times throughout. Despite coming into Stage 4 with a three minute penalty imposed by officials on the previous stage, Nasser and Mathieu managed to halve their overall lead gap to just 3min 3sec.
The other three TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews all suffered multiple punctures, some left with no spare wheels. Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul brought their Hilux across the finish line in seventh with a bare rim on the right rear just 19 seconds behind teammates Giniel de Villiers and Alex Haro to maintain their eighth position overall. A severe cold has been taking its toll on Bernhard while a gearbox operational issue caused more headaches for the crew, who had to nurse the car to the finish line 18min 35sec behind the leaders.
Apart from three more punctures, Giniel and Alex were relatively trouble-free but lost 18min 16sec to complete the stage in sixth place. The crew were also able to hold on to their seventh overall position, 34min 40sec behind the leaders.
Fernando Alonso and Marc Coma also endured punctures and had to switch to tyre management mode after they used up their last spare wheel, finishing the stage in 13th place, losing 26min 21sec to the leaders. The duo moved up to 20th place overall, just shy of three hours behind the leaders.
The 2020 Dakar Rally moves from Al Ula to the north-western city of Ha’il over the 564-kilometre Stage 5, featuring a special stage of 353 kilometres. The stage will see crews traverse past enormous rock formations and sandy hills which should reduce the high attrition rate of tyres.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “The good news is that from the information that we have, there are more sandy tracks from now on. I hope we’ve left the problem of punctures behind us and we’ll be on the sand tyres from now on. This means a slightly softer construction which gives our crews better traction. If this is indeed the case, the drivers can relax a little because finishing a stage with no spares is quite stressful for the crew.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “It was a good day for us and I’m quite happy. We did a really great job in Stage 4 without any mistakes so I’m really very happy.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “Not really the stage we wanted. We had three punctures and had to do 120 kilometres with no spare tyres. That made it very difficult and we had to come off the gas as there are so many rocks here. We also got lost a little in one area, but at least we’re here. It was a very difficult and long stage.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “It was actually quite a good stage up until we reached the second neutralisation zone. At that point, we’d only had one puncture, and I think we were up to fifth place. Everything went well, especially considering the fact that Bernhard was pretty sick when he got up today. But the last part was just too much for him. We had another three punctures, now we’ve got problems with the gearbox… It was just 100 kilometres too far for Bernhard in his condition.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “Today was not an easy day. I think it was probably the most stressful stage I’ve done so far. Between testing and racing the car, this was beyond any expectation. The navigation was really tricky with a lot of rocky places. We got three punctures quite early on in the stage and we did 150 kilometres with no spare tyre, so we had to drive quite carefully in the last section. There was quite a lot of stress, but I’m enjoying being here at the finish even though it was very demanding. I saw my teammates at the neutralisation and I told them that I had no tyres left. I asked them to please give me a spare if they saw me stopped on the stage, but we drove a bit slower in the last 150 kilometres just to avoid any issues. Two hundred kilometres ago it was very stressful in the car, but we’re happy to be here and happy to have survived the stage.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 4 Results:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +2min 26sec
6th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +18min 16sec
7th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +18min 35sec
13th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +26min 21sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Day 4:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +3min 3sec
7th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +34min 40sec
8th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +44min 40sec
20th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +2hrs 59min 27sec
FERNANDO ALONSO BOUNCES BACK AS FASTEST TOYOTA GAZOO Racing DRIVER ON STAGE 3 OF 2020 DAKAR RALLY
Fernando Alonso and Marc Coma scored their best-ever Dakar Rally stage result going fourth fastest over the 504-kilometre Stage 3 as the highest placed TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crew. The pair’s trouble-free run in their Toyota Hilux, trailing the leaders by just 6min 14sec, means they were able to leapfrog to 32nd position in the overall standings, 2hrs 40min 24sec behind the leaders, after a disappointing Stage 2.
Fernando and Marc benefitted from a late three minute penalty handed to teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel which saw them drop from second fastest on the day to fifth. The crew delivered a solid performance on the stage, dropping only 6min 31sec from the leaders after the penalty was applied. Apart from one puncture, the pair made good use of their starting road position to keep their Dakar Rally title defence alive, improving to second place overall with a gap of 7min 55sec.
Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro had the unenviable task of opening the stage after setting the fastest time on the previous day. The pair tackled Stage 3 as fast as they felt they could over the unknown terrain, losing 16min 21sec to the leaders, dropping one place in the overall standings to seventh with a gap of 23min 42sec.
Two punctures meant Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul were 16min 43sec adrift from the leaders. Nevertheless, the pair drove a steady stage to consolidate their overall position despite struggling for visibility in the dust kicked up by the slower cars ahead of them on the stage. The crew increased their overall position to eighth, 33min 23sec behind the leader.
Stage 4 is up next where the rally travels from the future city of Neom on the Red Sea coast to the inland city of Al Ula on a 672-kilometre route which features a special stage of 453 kilometres. The special stage will see crews travel over a combination of gravel and sandy terrain in a more historic part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “Today was better for us in terms of fewer punctures. I think the big news of the day was Fernando’s excellent recovery after the time lost on Stage 2; an absolutely amazing performance. For Nasser and Mathieu, it was a day of consolidation even though the conditions weren’t easy by any means and they still suffered one puncture. They’re very much in the game and played it safe crossing the rocky tracks in the mountains. I think losing three minutes [sic before the penalty is applied] in these conditions is not too bad at all.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “Yes, it was a good day for us and we were really pushing a lot early on during the stage. Unfortunately, we had one puncture after which we decided to take it a bit easier and make sure we get to the end of the stage without problems. I’m quite happy to be in second place overall and everything is going well for us in the Hilux.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “Today was okay, it was a beautiful stage. In the middle, there was some really stunning scenery. Obviously, we opened today, so it was a bit tricky. We lost some time, but the front runners were really fast today. They passed me at the 300 km mark, and from there I just followed them, and it was easy to follow once we were behind them. We had a good day otherwise, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “It was an interesting day for us, starting 15th on the road. There were several slower cars in front of us and after 30 kilometres, we were coming up right behind them in the dust. It took 25 kilometres and, just after we overtook them, we got a puncture so we had to stop to change the wheel. We had to try pass them again in the dust where you simply couldn’t see. We climbed up to eighth place overall and, to be honest, with this starting position, I’m happy with our performance.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “It was a very smooth day for us today with good visibility on the road. We caught all the cars in front of us at the right moments when they had punctures or other problems; so we had some clear track in front of us. It was a truly beautiful stage with amazing scenery but, unfortunately, we were going too fast to really enjoy the view. Overall, I’m happy with our performance today and Marc was again spot on with the navigation.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 3 Results:
4th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +6min 14sec
5th No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +6min 31sec (incl. penalty: +3min)
9th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +16min 21sec
10th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +16min 43sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Day 3:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +7min 55sec (incl. penalty: +3min)
7th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +23min 42sec
8th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +33min 23sec
32nd No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +2hrs 40min 24sec
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