South Africans Eben Basson and Leon Pienaar, in their first Dakar and competing in Class T3, have done
exceptionally well thus far.
Class T3 caters for lightweight prototype vehicles and being their first race, it has proved to be extremely
tough, but also inspiring. “The stages are tough, the liaisons are often long, and without a windscreen we
often find ourselves exposed to the cold and rain, but we love every moment,” said Basson.
“It is such an honour to be part of the G Rally Team, and to be driving an identical OT3 lightweight
prototype to the one that is currently leading the class,” he continued. “Our teammates are
superstars in this world, and we’re learning a lot from them every day.”
Leading the class at this time is Guillaume de Mevius and his co-driver Francois Cazalet.
The rains came down and the organisers had to reroute the rally to Riyadh and switched some stages
around. “It was quite a mess, in terms of the schedule. You plan things out in your mind ahead of each
stage, but then suddenly it was all changed. Even so, we got through all the changes without serious
problems, and finally arrived safely in Riyadh for the rest day.”
The intrepid #TeamHilux crew completed Stage 8 in the eighth-fastest time, relinquishing six minutes eight seconds to the stage winners. This result, however, belied their true pace as they spent most of the stage setting the second-fastest time, until a technical niggle near the end of the stage set them back by around 20
minutes.
“It was an amazing day, and a great way to end our first week at the Dakar Rally,” concluded Basson.
“Leander has been doing a fantastic job. We set ourselves a target of being in the Top 10 by the rest
day. We’ve not only achieved this, but we find ourselves in seventh place, which is simply amazing.”
Source: MotorPress
