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Issue #13:January 16, 2021
Stage 11 on the 14th travelled south from Saudi Arabia’s AlUla to Yanbu on the Red Sea coast.
With a 464 km SS, this was the last long stage of the rally. For TLC Toyota Land Cruiser 200 series in the production car category, both cars safely made the finish. Car #340 with Akira Miura and Laurent Lichtleuchter came in 41st place overall. Trailing by 18 seconds, car #345 with Ronald Basso and Jean-Michel Polato came in 42nd place overall. With these results, car #340 has a cumulative ranking of 1st place in the production car category and 39th place overall. Car #345 ranks 2nd place in the production car category and 40th place overall.
The SS for this day was held north to south down along the Red Sea coast along the mountainous terrain, and started after a 2 km liaison section from the bivouac in AlUla.
Heading south, weaving through hills on the inland side, the second half of the stage followed the route along a mountain range that took them over to the coast side, then to the finish near the coast in Yanbu.
Recent rain over the last few days caused salt lakes to overflow, so the course was shortened from its original length of 511 km to 464 km.
For most of the first half the ground was hard gravel and wadi (dried-up riverbeds). In the second half, some difficult dunes continued for about 80 km. Combined with the long distance, this made it a merciless stage for all.
Both TLC cars proceeded with caution on this final obstacle. Car #340 punctured a tire in the beginning of the stage on the rocky terrain, but after that there were no misses, and they also cleared the stage without getting stuck in the sand.
In the risky sections they paced themselves and waited for car #345 to maintain a close distance. Car #345 also kept a consistent pace and made it through without punctures or getting stuck, and they reached the SS finish 18 seconds behind car #340.
After the finish, they drove a 134 km liaison back to the bivouac near Yanbu airport. When they arrived, the mechanics got to work and carried out extensive inspections and maintenance to prepare for the final day.
At long last, we see the final day on the 15th. After taking on a 202 km course in the Yanbu area for the final SS, teams will take the liaison to Jeddah, the same city where they started. When they arrive, they will be taking the finish podium at King Abdullah Sports City.
Miura (driver): I was expecting an intense stage, but it an easier run than the stage where we lost our power steering. For the final stage tomorrow, I’ll be driving in my usual style.
Basso (driver): The starting order was unfortunate. In the first half, we ended up together with the top positions in the SSV class who were making a lot of dust. It was tough. Clearing the dunes took us a while, and the sun set before we got to the finish, so we had to pace ourselves a little to drive safely.