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Issue #9:January 11, 2022
On Sunday January 9, the second half of the 2022 Dakar Rally started. The 401.74 km stage went west from the capital Riyadh to Al Dawadimi. The two TLC Toyota Land Cruiser 200 cars made the finish with the following rankings: Akira Miura (Toyota Auto Body staff) and Laurent Lichtleuchter in car #242 ranked 48th overall and 1st in the production car category, while Ronald Basso and Jean-Michel Polato in car #245 ranked 55th overall and 2nd in the category. In the overall cumulative rankings, this puts car #242 and #245 in 41st and 46th place and 1st and 2nd place in the production car category, respectively. As of the starting point on this day, all cars in the production car category except for TLC’s have left the line of battle, and now the team presses on in the second half of the rally to go where no team has gone before – to achieve 9 consecutive victories in the same category.
On this day’s stage, teams took a 209.73 km liaison from the Riyadh bivouac to the start of the SS in the mountainous terrain north of Al Dawadimi. Overall, the course was well suited to high speeds, but in some areas there were too many rocks on the roadside and a confusing number of parallel tracks, making it hard to figure out which path to take. After crossing over some sand dunes, they cut through a valley in a wadi (dried up riverbed) to reach the finish. Unlike the sand in the first half, here it is soft and the dust is ferocious. While following the frequently changing CAP headings (compass directions) to accurately clear the GPS waypoints (mandatory coordinates that must be passed), this stage was difficult to navigate. After reaching the finish for the SS, a 97.73 km liaison took them to the bivouac in Al Dawadimi.
TLC car #242 started the stage with low tire pressure for the softer sand. Afterwards, tire pressure was slightly increased along the way to match the terrain, and they safely crossed the dunes without getting stuck or puncturing any tires and made it to the finish. After a puncture 10 km from the start, car #245 made a rough landing when it came down from a dune at the summit’s tip which was as steep as a cliff. While it was a shock to their lower backs, they didn’t suffer any injuries, and since the car made it through OK, they made it to the finish with a careful pace.
Miura (driver): The sand is now softer, and it feels like things suddenly got more difficult. Fortunately, the tires by TOYO TIRES that we started using in this rally provide us with great grip in the sand without the need to decrease too much tire pressure. This also means we don’t have to worry as much about punctures and de-beads (when tires separate from the wheel) when tackling dunes, resulting in a more confident run.
Basso (driver): We fell from the dunes, but the car was OK, so we pushed on carefully in the heavy dust and safely made it to the finish. I had some back pain, but I’m fine.