Change in fortune for the factory Toyota Hilux crews has seen a gradual return to the overall top 10.
Stage 2 of the South African Safari Rally brought a major uplift in form for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, as both GR Hilux EVO crews finished the marathon stage on the podium.
First and second
Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy (#211) claimed the stage win, while teammates, Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet (#212), followed closely behind in second place.
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The stage covered 620 km, consisting of a 212 km liaison, a 356 km special stage and a final 55 km road section into the bivouac near the town of Stella.
As per marathon stage regulations, no external technical support is allowed overnight, requiring crews to service and prepare their vehicles entirely on their own ahead of stage 3.
A challenging day
Conditions varied significantly with fast open grassland sections blending into deep ruts, patches of sand and short stretches of tarmac.
The lack of tracks in many areas made for complex navigation, particularly in the second half of the route, which cut through long grass and densely vegetated areas.
Botterill and Murphy, determined to rebound from a difficult Stage 1, made the most of their favourable road position to set a time of three hours 12 min 36 sec, winning the stage by 55 seconds.
“Today was a great day,” said Botterill. “We benefited quite a lot from starting further down but Dennis was great on the notes and we just managed to put it all together. It was really cool, super fast, high-speed stuff.
“Navigation was really tricky, so I think the guys in front suffered a lot, but that was our story yesterday. We capitalised on our position today, pushed really hard and there were no issues with the car”.
Behind them, Variawa and Cazalet posted their best stage result of the event to date.
“It was a really good day,” said Variawa. “Obviously, starting position helped a little bit. We pushed quite a lot. I think we were leading by about a minute and a half at one point, and we continued to increase the gap.
“But unfortunately, in the last 120 km, we suffered engine overheating issues. We went through a lot of bushes and the radiators got clogged up, so we had to back off, let the car cool, then push again.
“We lost a lot of time, but it’s a good result for the team with Guy in first and myself in second. Overall, we are super happy with the performance.”
Stage 3 forecast
With stage 3 set to bring competitors back to Sun City via a 246 km special, followed by a 263 km liaison, the event remains finely poised.
Road conditions are expected to mirror those seen today, with dry and dusty surfaces prevailing across the region.
Navigation is again expected to be decisive, with minimal marking on the ground and continued pressure on co-drivers to read the terrain accurately from the roadbook.
The uptick in fortune means Variawa and Cazalet move up to 12th overall, seven minutes 15 sec behinds the leaders.
Botterill and Murphy have now climbed to 14th overall, 14 min 28 sec behind the event leaders.
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