RARING TO GO. GWM will go to the Dakar Rally with confidence next year, having enjoyed a 100% finishing record in the event for the past five years. Picture: Supplied.
When China’s Zhou Yong steered the first GWM Dakar racecar to a solid 33rd place in the 2010 edition of the rally, the world took notice. Worth a mention is that Zhou had driven the car for only 200km prior to the rally.
After that first tentative foray into the world of international motorsport, GWM has gone from strength to strength, with a 22nd position in 2011, and top 10 finishes (sixth in both instances) in 2012 and 2013 – the team having been bolstered by the addition of the experienced Carlos Sousa.
With two top 10 finishes in consecutive races, it is certainly regarded as a threat.
Sousa is again in the driving seat, but the second GWM racecar will this year be piloted by another experienced driver, Frenchman Christian Lavieille.
Sousa and Lavieille will have their work cut out for them.
The 2014 edition of the Dakar will head into the dunes and heat of the Atacama desert.
The special stages are longer this year, and there are some new, marathon-like sections as well.
GWM thus far has a 100 %
finishing record in all Dakars it has participated in, and recently also emerged victorious in the China Grand Rally, a 6 000km event contested by more than
300 vehicles.
The 2014 Dakar Rally kicks off on January 5, 2014.
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