FERNANDO ALONSO SECOND FASTEST ON DAKAR STAGE 8 FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
Fernando Alonso and navigator Marc Coma made their mark on the 2020 Dakar Rally posting the second fastest time across the finish line on Stage 8, narrowly missing out on their first-ever stage win by just 4min 4sec. The pair were the fastest of the four TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews on the 477-kilometre looped stage which started and ended at Wadi Al Dawasir.
Ever since they fell back by over two hours because of suspension damage sustained on Stage 2, the pair have consistently posted competitive stage times which shows their determination to push their limits at one of the world’s most challenging motorsport events.
Starting from sixth on the road, Fernando and Marc were in an ideal road position to attack. The crew took full advantage of their road position and a newly improved aerodynamics package, which the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team implemented during the Rest Day. The pair move up to 13th place in the overall standings, just 4min 31sec within reach of Top 10 at Fernando’s first-ever Dakar Rally.
Navigation proved tricky for the front-runners following the cancellation of the stage of motorbikes, who would normally leave tracks which the competitors in later categories can follow. Despite posting only the 11th fastest time on Stage 8, Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel managed to close the gap in the overall standings to 6min 40sec. The crew took the lead early on in the stage but lost their advantage after getting stuck on soft sand dunes. Their 11th starting road position for Stage 9 could translate to visibility issues following in the dust of competitors. Nevertheless, the crew will hope to make further progress in their Dakar Rally title defence.
It was a welcome return to the top of the timing sheets for Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro who posted the fourth fastest time, trailing the leaders by 6min 29sec. The crew reported a clean run on the stage to hold on to their sixth place in the overall standings, just 10 minutes from fifth and will be aiming to reduce the gap in the coming days.
Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul had a narrow escape on Stage 8 as an errand rock not only punctured their front right tyre but also punched a hole through a part of the chassis of their Hilux. The impact resulted in a hole in the dry sump tank. The crew lost time to change the tyre but decided to push on despite the damage and completed the stage in the seventh fastest time, 10min 19sec behind the winners. The Hilux continued to run without problems and carried the crew safely back to the bivouac for repairs.
Stage 9 will take crews from the town of Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh, in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia. Crews are expecting more sand and hard track over the 410-kilometre special stage with the route totalling 868 kilometres making it the longest day of the 2020 Dakar Rally.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “What a day it was! We initially thought that Fernando had won the stage, which would have been great for the team and also great for Fernando and Marc. But in the end it wasn’t to be, although their result was still fantastic; and they showed their true mettle. This was a proper stage, which is what we’ve been hoping for. Even though Nasser’s start position wasn’t great, having to open after the leaders got stuck, they managed to close the gap to the lead to under seven minutes.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “It was actually not a bad day for us. But it was very tricky out there with lots of soft sand dunes. We tried to do our best, but we had to open the route for the last 150 kilometres again. I knew I was losing time, because there were no tracks at all. Overall, I think we did a good job today, and we’ll have a good starting position for tomorrow. While there are still four stages left, our plan is to push really hard on tomorrow’s stage.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “In the first part of the stage, we had some issues with the front brakes, which came and went; but other than that it was a good stage. We just had to stay clean, not get stuck and deal with some tricky navigation in places. But overall, not a bad stage for us.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “Today was a very exciting day for us. We started in P4, which was a good road position. Without the bikes, however, we only had three sets of tracks ahead of us, but we still pushed quite hard from the beginning and recorded the fastest time to the first waypoint. The rest of the stage was fairly routine, until we hit a rock in the dunes about 200 kilometres from the finish. The rock did a lot of damage, and even though we could smell oil in the cockpit, we decided to push on.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “It was an unbelievable stage! To be competitive on one of these long stages, with dunes and everything, and to be fighting for the victory, was amazing. It’s hard to believe that I got into a rally car for the first time just a couple of months ago, and here I am fighting with the top guys. The Dakar dream keeps getting better and better; and there wasn’t a downside in any of the last few stages, as we keep climbing in the positions. Top 7, then Top 5 and now second, so we really can’t ask anything more from the Toyota Hilux, the team or from Marc. I think we all have good momentum now and I just want to keep going.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 8 Results:
2nd No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +4min 04sec
4th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +6min 29sec
7th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +10min 19sec
11th No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +15min 55sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Stage 8:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +6min 40sec
6th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +53min 12sec
8th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +1hr 7min 00sec
13th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +3hrs 10min 51sec
ALL FOUR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing CREWS COMPLETE LONGEST STAGE OF DAKAR 2020
All four TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews completed the seventh stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally which saw crews take on a gruelling 546-kilometre special stage across varied terrain littered with sand dunes from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir. Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel again set the fastest time for the team just 2min 12sec behind the stage winners, maintaining their second place in the overall rankings with a gap of ten minutes. While the stage started with small dunes, the crew’s initial charge was hamstrung by the fast tracks which favoured their two-wheel-drive competitors.
The day was marked by the sad passing of Portuguese motorcyclist and 2013 FIM Cross-Country World Champion, Paulo Gonçalves. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing joins the Dakar Rally family in mourning Paulo’s passing and extends its sincerest condolences to his family, friends and teammates at Hero Motosports Team Rally.
Stage 7 proved challenging for Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro. The neck injury Giniel picked up during Stage 5 is still causing him pain, exacerbated by the long distance endurance stage. Nevertheless, the pair attempted to push whenever possible, although also feeling the effects of the lack of top-end speed compared to their competitors in buggies. They brought their Hilux home 10th fastest on the stage, but moved up to sixth place overall with a lead gap of 1hr 5min 58sec.
Small aerodynamic modifications on Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul’s Hilux during the Rest Day allowed the crew to stay in touch with the leaders. The pair posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, trailing Nasser and Mathieu by just 46 seconds. The crew now moves up to seventh in the overall standings, 1hr 15min 56sec behind the leaders.
Fernando Alonso and navigator Marc Coma delivered another strong and consistent performance to finish sixth fastest on the longest stage of the event, despite losing time when one of their tyres delaminated. The pair lost the best part of 1min 30sec to stop and change the wheel. They crossed the finish line just 7min 49sec behind the stage winners and moved up two places to 14th in the overall standings which means that all four TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews are now in the Top 15 with five stages to go.
Stage 8 is the second of two looped stages at the 2020 edition of the Dakar Rally which will start and end near Wadi Al Dawasir where the bivouac is located. The 716-kilometre route includes a special stage of 477 kilometres across mountainous landscapes and canyons. A 40-kilometre straight stretch will once again disadvantage the Hilux but TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has adapted the aerodynamics of the cars for the remainder of the race to compensate.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “Today was a sad day for the entire Dakar fraternity with the passing of Paulo Gonçalves after a crash in the stage. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. As for our own team, we have four cars in the Top 8 of the stage. Bernhard had a great, great run today; but unfortunately, we only managed to beat one of our nearest competitors, not both. Unexpectedly, the stage didn’t suit us, as we were told that it would be more technical today. Turns out it was nearly 250 kilometres of flat out racing, so maybe we managed to limit the damage in terms of time loss.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “Today was a really fast stage and we went at our maximum pace. In the end, the only difference between the cars was the difference in the top speed, which meant that we couldn’t do anything to attack today. But we still have five days left and we’ll never give up. I’ll continue doing my best to win this race again.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “We were a little bit off the pace today but I’m having a problem with my neck after the hard landing we had on Stage 5. So every time we take a hit, there’s a bit of pain, but we’ll see what the physio can do here at the bivouac. Hopefully he can put things back in line, but we’ll just have to live with it. Today was a very, very fast stage with very little lifting of the throttle. The average speed was almost 130km/h which is extremely fast.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “Today was quite a good stage. We started in P7, behind Fernando and with Giniel behind us. We pushed quite hard and, in the dunes, we had to dig deep to keep up with the pace. In the second part of the stage, we pushed really hard and we made up some time; but the third part was very high speed and it was a little monotonous. Tom made no mistakes and we finished the stage in the fourth-fastest time.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “Today is definitely one no one wants to experience in any motorsport race with the sad and shocking news of Paulo’s passing. We would like to send our condolences to his family and friends. We had a tyre delamination at around 250-260 kilometres which damaged the rear left bodywork; as a result, our top speed was limited. I think we were quite competitive today; we were looking good for a Top 3 or Top 4 finish. The stage was a bit unexpected as we were in sixth gear and flat out, just seeing the kilometres ticking away. If we knew in advance about today’s stage, we could’ve probably tweaked our set up to get more top speed out of the Hilux. We’ll take the lessons from today into the final stages of the race.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 7 Results:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +2min 12sec
4th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +2min 58sec
6th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +7min 49sec
7th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +10min 19sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Stage 7:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +10min 00sec
6th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +1hrs 5min 58sec
7th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +1hr 15min 56sec
14th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +3hrs 26min 02sec
TOP 8 FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing CREWS ON DAKAR STAGE 6
All four TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews finished in the Top 8 on Stage 6 at the 2020 Dakar Rally. The foursome was again spearheaded by Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel who brought their Toyota Hilux home 3min 22sec behind the stage winners in third place overall. The pair lost 1min 30sec following a puncture in the middle of the 477-kilometre stage between the city of Ha’il and the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.
All eyes were on Dakar rookie Fernando Alonso and his more experienced rally raid campaigner and navigator Marc Coma, however, who delivered their strongest performance yet at their first-ever Dakar Rally together. The crew came home just 7min 56sec off the pace in sixth fastest place. The pair’s trouble-free run placed them second-fastest of all four-wheel drive cars, giving them a welcomed confidence boost going into the Rest Day before tackling the second half of the gruelling event.
Taking advantage of a number of setup adjustments on their Hilux, Bernhard ten Brinke and navigator Tom Colsoul maintained their eighth place overall and limited their time loss to the leaders to just 9min 37sec, completing the stage in seventh. The pair are now 1hr 12min 58sec behind the overall leaders.
Giniel de Villiers and navigator Alex Haro lost 10min 48sec today despite pushing hard on the stage. The pair were frustrated with their performance and struggled to match the pace of the leading pack, coming home eighth fastest on the stage. Nevertheless, they arrived at the Rest Day in sixth place overall, with a gap to the lead of 55min 41sec.
With six demanding stages completed, all crews can now look forward to the traditional Rest Day which marks the mid-point of the Dakar Rally. This is also an opportunity for the technical crews to go through the cars with a fine-tooth comb, checking every system thoroughly in preparation for the final week of the 42nd edition of the Dakar Rally.
Glyn Hall, Team Principal: “We’re here at the Rest Day with all four cars and we’ve had no technical issues on any of the cars thus far. We’re in second place overall with Nasser and we had all four cars inside the top 10 today. Fernando put in an incredible performance to finish second-fastest of the Toyota Hilux crews. Unfortunately, today was a very high-speed stage, despite the small dunes in the middle. We had hoped for more dunes, but in the end it was a largely flat-out stage and not the best for us in terms of top speed.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah (No. 300): “It was a really good day. The stage was a long one and not easy. We tried to push as hard as we could, but we had one flat tyre which cost us about 1min 30sec. The stage was fast, with some dune crossings, but we’re happy to reach the Rest Day. I think next week there will be lots more sand which will suit us.”
Giniel de Villiers (No. 304): “It was pretty much flat out from the start today; a very fast stage with some dune crossings in between. We lost some time again today, because we just weren’t prepared to take the risks that the guys at the front were taking. Even today, we had a couple of big moments and it’s a bit frustrating to be so far off the leaders. We’ll have to see what we can do, but at least we’re still here, and there’s still a week to go. So, we’ll keep our chins up and keep on fighting.”
Bernhard ten Brinke (No. 307): “Today was a very good day. We started with some very fast track; but then we entered the dunes and it was immediately clear that the car was more at home than during the previous five stages. We made some big changes in the setup for today, including lowering the rear of the car. The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team did a great job to give me a better car for today’s stage, which allowed us to attack more. I think we spent more time in the air than on the ground and we had some really good pace.”
Fernando Alonso (No. 310): “Today was another good stage for us. We had no issues today; no punctures and good visibility. We got into a good rhythm again, especially in the dunes. Marc was especially good today in the dunes, because he is good at reading the lines. Thanks to all of that, we managed a good stage, and we arrive at the Rest Day with good confidence.”
2020 Dakar Rally Day 6 Results:
3rd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +3min 22sec
6th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +7min 56sec
7th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +9min 37sec
8th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +10min 48sec
2020 Dakar Rally Overall Results After Stage 6:
2nd No. 300 Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel, +7min 48sec
7th No. 304 Giniel de Villiers/Alex Haro, +55min 41sec
8th No. 307 Bernhard ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul, +1hr 12min 58sec
16th No. 310 Fernando Alonso/Marc Coma, +3hrs 18min 13sec
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