Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC’s Dakar Rally victory hopes end on Stage 11

• Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings lose almost four hours
• Seth Quintero and Andrew Short show strong pace on their way to fifth
• Toby Price and Amrand Monleón remain in the overall top 10, finishing the stage 13^th

Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) suffered a crushing blow to their Dakar Rally victory challenge on the high-speed Stage 11 on Thursday.

One of the fastest stages of this year’s event, the stage took competitors on dirt tracks over dusty plateaus from Bisha to Al Henakiyah via an 548-mile route, including a 215-mile timed section.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were second overall going into the stage and aiming to recover time on the leader. However, a wheel bearing issue at the 87-mile mark left the No202 DKR GR Hilux stranded. Without spares, they tried to proceed on three wheels, only to stop again a few miles later.

After waiting for the spare parts truck, they were eventually able to resume. Although their chances of an overall podium were now over, the crew demonstrated their determination by completing the remaining 125 miles, albeit with a delay of almost four hours. They are now 23^rd overall.

In contrast, Seth Quintero and Andrew Short enjoyed a trouble-free stage and were among the frontrunners throughout. Fifth place saw the No203 DKR GR Hilux remain 11^th in the overall standings with two stages – including 258 miles of competition – remaining.

Toby Price and Armand Monleón again performed consistently. They battled through the dust to finish 13th and consolidate their top-10 overall position. The No204 DKR GR Hilux has moved up to eighth heading into the final two days of the event.

Markus Ekström and Emil Bergkvist won Stage 11 for Ford Racing, ahead of Romain Dumas and Alex Winocq (RD Limited). Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz completed the podium in third for Ford Racing. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders) retained the overall lead.

Team quotes

Henk Lategan: “It is very frustrating. This year it feels like everything that Dakar could throw at us has happened. This rally tried hard to get us down and we lost four hours on this stage, so it has finally succeeded. Every day we would get ourselves back up into a decent position. We have been pushing for so many days and trying so hard. We’ll keep going and push again tomorrow because it’s the only way we know.”

Seth Quintero: “It has been a good day for us. We started off at a decent pace. Unfortunately, we saw our good buddies and team-mates Henk and Brett waiting for parts, but we didn’t have those parts, so we continued. We made up quite a bit of time towards the end and were fifth, so that’s a pretty good result. We have a decent starting position for tomorrow and we’re still fighting for the overall top 10. Hopefully we finish the rally strongly and bring that home.”

Toby Price: “It was hard work out there but a super fun stage. We passed Henk and Brett in the stage, and it was tough to leave them there, but we didn’t have the parts he needed. The rest of the stage went well but we just couldn’t make up any time because of the dust. I’m a little disappointed with that, but I enjoyed driving at full throttle. There are a couple more days to go and it would be nice to get a stage win. The car is in good shape and the rally’s not over yet, so anything can happen. We’ll keep pushing on.”

Dakar Rally – Provisional Stage 11 result*

Dakar Rally – Provisional standings after Stage 11*

*Correct at time of publication

ENDS