Variawa and Stassen make SA proud at Dakar 2022 in Saudi Arabia

The dust and dirt cannot keep up with driver Shameer Variawa and co-driver Danie Stassen as the two keep their focus and composure after having completed seven stages of the Dakar Rally 2022 in Saudi Arabia over the past eight days. They are competing with the all-new Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ for Toyota Gazoo Racing and are representing South Africa in the 4×4 petrol and diesel car class.

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The competitors arrived in Jeddah and drove to Ha’il to take part in the qualifying stage, stage 1A, on Saturday January 1. A short 19-kilometre special stage separated two parts of the 595-kilometre route from Jeddah to Ha’il to determine the starting order of Sunday January 2’s first real day of racing.

According to the Dakar 2022 website, Variawa and Stassen came in 15th out of 88 teams in the special 19-kilometre race with a time of 12 minutes and 27 seconds, being one minute and 31 seconds behind the lead drivers.

The racers were excited for the official start of the event, stage 1B, a 333-kilometre circle route from Ha’il and back, on January 2. Variawa and Stassen finished in 04:52.14 (01:21.21 behind the lead) and achieved 18th position, despite facing electrical problems that slowed them down along with a 15-minute penalty.

On the following day, stage two, a 339-kilometre route from Ha’il to Al Qaisumah, was attempted. The duo kept their stage rank with a time of 04:13.21, 48 minutes and 21 seconds behind the lead.

Stage three was a circle route from Al Qaisumah and back on January 4. Variawa and Stassen were ranked 12th with a time of 02:42.09, 14 minutes and 40 seconds behind the lead after the 255-kilometre stretch.

The racers drove 465 kilometres from Al Qaisumah to Riyadh in stage four, achieving 14th place with a time of 04:22.11 (27 minutes and 31 seconds behind the lead). They moved up to 13th place after completing the 346-kilometre circle route from Riyadh and back in stage five with a time of 04:14.35, 21 minutes and seven seconds behind the lead.

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The competitors faced a challenging sixth stage on January 7. It was another circle route around Riyadh and stretched over 404 kilometres. Variawa and Stassen ended up in fifth place in a time of 03:10.51, only four minutes and six seconds behind the lead.

The drivers rested on the eighth day of the rally, yesterday. The duo participated in the seventh stage today. They drove 402 kilometres from Riyadh to Al Dawadimi. Variawa and Stassen came in sixth place with a time of 03:28.08, 13 minutes and 10 seconds behind the lead.

They are ranked fifth in the general rankings of their class after eight days and seven stages of racing with a combined time of 27:03:29, which is only 03:11:07 behind the leading team.

Five days remain for the Dakar Rally 2022. The last race will be on Friday January 14.