The team’s annual hot weather testing takes place in Goerapan, an off-road course near the Namibian border, around 100km or so from Upington.
Test day
I was invited to attend one of the test days recently and jumped at the opportunity to see the team in action. After catching an early morning flight to Upington and riding shotgun in a Corolla Quest rental car for some 100km, we arrived at Goerapan to the sound of motorsport as Giniel de Villiers passed us at full taps on the off-road section at the entrance to the facility.
By the time we arrived at the team’s support truck, Giniel was already out of the car, sipping on some water, while the car was already jacked-up and being worked on. He’d been there for a while, which took some of the steam out of our driver, who thought that we had been motoring down the dirt road in our Quest.
#HiluxDakar
The purpose of this testing is to put the latest creation from the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, masterminded by Team Principal Glyn Hall, to the test. The newly developed machine has been significantly changed for the 2018 event. In a rather bold move, the team has decided to move the location of the 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8, which is a development of the motor seen in the Lexus IS F.
Yes, the 2018 Dakar Hilux now features a mid-engine set-up whereas in previous years, the large lump was mounted up-front. The reasoning behind this was primarily to improve handling among others. I have to admit, when approaching the front-end of the Hilux on the sun baked off-road pan, it was strange to not see a motor underneath the bonnet.
The results
Apart from testing out the new powertrain location, the team also invests a massive amount of time into the development and setting-up of the suspension. It was only when I was offered a ride in the passenger seat next to Mr de Villiers himself, that I realised the importance of suspension set-up.
Acting more as a ballast than a navigator in place of German Dirk von Zitzewitz, who was not flown out for this particular testing session, I sat there like a giggling school girl as one of the best off-road drivers on the planet took me for a 15km blast through the test route.
It’s simply astonishing to see what sort of terrain these cars can traverse, and what speeds they can do it at without absolutely shattering your back. This is where the aforementioned suspension settings were much appreciated and indeed why testing sessions are so vital before attempting a race as gruelling as the Dakar.
I came back from my ride with a newfound is respect for the drivers and navigators who take part in this race. How they manage four to five hours a day of this sort of driving over a two week time period is absolutely astonishing.
Dakar 2018
This year’s Dakar will take place from Saturday 6 January to Saturday 20 January. At present, we are waiting for the official team announcement from Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa. De Villiers and von Zitzewitz are certainly in, but with Leeroy Poulter on medical leave, we await the official confirmation of the second or even third driver. Don’t be surprised if Nasser Al-Attiyah joins the line-up though.
