Dakar 2018 - Desert Daze
Dakar 2018 - Desert Daze
By Lawrence Minnie
The 40th edition of the worlds most grueling race recently wrapped up in the Argentine city of Cordoba.
I was privileged to able to experience the first few days of the race, getting a back stage perspective of what goes into competing in the toughest racing event on the planet with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team who had 3 vehicles entered for 2018 .
After arriving in the capital city, Lima, we attended the podium start of the race with all its pomp and ceremony, the heat of the day most definitely took its toll on the driving crews and riders as each competitor was introduced over a couple of hours to the massive Peruvian crowd lining the main street .
After leaving the podium the teams made their way just shy of 300kms to the start of the prologue in the dunes of Paracas. We arrived at the bivouac as many competitors were finishing and preparing for the next days grueling first stage.
The beauty of this small town that sprung up in the dunes outside Paracas was awe inspiring as the sun began to set on the first day.
Our second day in Paracas and Race day 1, was a very early start of 2am. We needed to be at our waypoint area before the first drivers left as we were utilizing a section of the race route to travel to the waypoint and needed to be off the course before they began. The sun broke out from behind the dunes and by 8:30 it was already 30 degrees celcius.
We waited as the heat and anticipation grew and our first indication that the racers were approaching was the sound of the helicopters following the leaders.
The Toyota Gazoo teams of Nasser al Attiyah and Giniel de Villiers were first through our waypoint followed by the Peugeots and then 3rd man, Bernard ten Brinke close behind.
The heat of the desert was almost overpowering as we made our way to the second waypoint in the Ica dune sea to catch the teams as they closed the loop on day one. This second viewing point proved to be the hardest to manage as the temperature quickly exceeded 40 degrees giving us a small glimpse into what the teams must have been experiencing inside their race machines in the desert.
That evening we returned to the dust bowl that was the bivouac and spent some time with the teams and experienced what life in the team pit was like, with eager mechanics scurrying to and fro, working on all aspects of the three cars in preparation for race day 2.
Race day 2 dawned just as hot the previous and we found ourselves at the same waypoint but the racers would be approaching from a different direction over the dunes.
By this time we had already heard that by 10pm the previous night there were still 7 trucks, 20 odd cars and a number of motorcycles still stuck in the soft sand of the Ica dunes.
The Dakar is a tough race and one of the few rallies that doesn’t allow you to continue if you don’t complete the days stage before the cutoff time the next morning. This led to a number of drivers being eliminated on race day 1. Day 2 would be no different with many drivers eliminating themselves due to crashes and breakages or simply getting lost or stuck in the dunes.
The Peugeots would begin to overtake the Gazoo Racing teams as soft sand and punctures took their toll on the teams. By the time we had left the desert and made our way back to civilization, the bivouac that had taken up an entire desert slope was all but gone as the teams had packed up and headed south for the next day and stage 3.
Our last day in Peru was spent exploring Lima but wherever we were able to connect to wi-fi, we followed the race updates and timing closely with many off wondering how much a visa for Chile would cost so that we could continue to follow the race.
The Dakar continued to rage across thousands of kilometers and 2 other countries before the final stage was completed in Argentina.
The final podium would be Carlos Sainz in 1st followed closely by Nasser al Attiyah in second and Giniel de Villiers in 3rd. in what was probably the most heartbreaking development for Toyota Gazoo, Bernard ten Brinke’s machine would falter at the last minute dropping him out of the race in sight of the last day.
Experiencing the Dakar first hand gives one a deep appreciation for what these teams go through to just finish the race and I for one am glad that I was able to experience just a few moments of it.
The Dakar dream is one that eludes many and its easy to see why some drivers just want to finish the race and don’t care much for the silverware. To the winners I bid you congratulations and to those that didn’t cross the finish line….see you in 2019, because I know youll be back!