Running through a Beautiful Red Valley and Crossing a Clean River, a Muddy River and a Dry River, the HILUXES Again Finish the Stage 2nd and 3rd
Since yesterday's SS (Special Stage) was long and tough, today's was relatively short, 284 km. Road surfaces in the valleys and river beds were often littered with stones. The competitors sometimes crossed rivers. Today, the HILUXES again ran smoothly. GINIEL DE VILLIERS (#303 IMPERIAL TOYOTA), who felt a bit sick yesterday, increased the pace and passed CP1 (a check point in the middle of the SS) in the lead, a sign that he has recovered. However, a flat tire resulted in lost time and he finished the stage in 2nd place. GINIEL said, "Today's stage was short, so I ran aggressively." He is confident in the HILUX's capabilities that got him 2nd place despite the flat tire. Third place in the stage also went to a HILUX, this one driven by YAZEED ALRAJHI (#325 YAZEED RACING). YAZEED is getting more accustomed to driving the HILUX with each day. Being from Saudi Arabia, he must be adept at desert driving, so a superior performance can be expected in the desert stage in Chile.
NICOLAS GIBON (#345 TEAM LAND CRUISER) held the lead in the Production Category until today, but he had hard luck when a flying stone hit and broke the radiator of his Land Cruiser 200. The repair took long and he moved down significantly in the ranking. On the other hand, his teammate, JUN MITSUHASHI (#343 TEAM LAND CRUISER) drove a perfect race and finished 1st in the category in the stage.
Tomorrow marks a big change as the rally moves across the border into Chile from Argentina. The race will start early in the morning. The SS is 315 km and the Liaison Section is 594 km. The Atacama Desert in Chile awaits the competitors. This is a difficult stage. A competitor who gets stuck in the desert may not be able to finish the course before sunset.
Superior Water Resistance Demonstrated by River Crossings
In Central and South America, rain falling in valleys percolates to the surface and collects to form shallow rivers. Competitors sometimes go up these rivers just like fish swimming upstream and sometimes they cross the rivers to continue on their way. The river beds can often become slippery with round rocks or miry mud can make the driving difficult. Both the HILUX and the Land Cruiser underwent sever testing before they were released, so it is to be expected that these conditions would not present problems for their engine compartments or drive trains. Moreover, both vehicles can boast great off-road capabilities as demonstrated by their handling of the difficult river conditions in the Dakar 2015.
