Gazoo crews overcome setbacks

IT WAS a tough weekend for Toyota Gazoo South Africa (TGRSA) in the Outeniqua 400 fourth round of the South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), which took place in the scenic Langkloof Valley between Oudtshoorn and Uniondale in the Western Cape.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

Good start

They started well from Louvain Guest Farm, where rally HQ was situated, with Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet setting the fastest time over the 38-kilometre prologue, just one second ahead of teammates Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena, in an identical GR Hilux IMT Evo.

First setbacks

Despite their pace, several setbacks put the team on the back foot by the time the dust had settled after the technical 80-kilometre loop at the end of the day.

Botterill and Mena first suffered a puncture, and then had to deal with a mistake in navigation that cost them the best part of six minutes. This saw them drop down the order, and they finished the day in seventh overall, 4min 46sec adrift of the leaders.