South African circuit racing champion Anthony Taylor, performing in the unfamiliar role of technical support truck driver on the 2011 Dakar Rally in Argentina, has maintained his overall position of 38th after the first two special.
Competing in his first Dakar Rally for the Belgian Team Overdrive and teamed with co-drivers Juan Mohr of South Africa and Steven Vyncke of Belgium, the 37-year-old from Roodepoort did well to overcome a 30-minute delay on Monday’s special stage when he stopped to assist one of the five South African-built Nissan Navaras of the Belgian team.
The Portuguese pairing of Francisco Silva and Pedro Noronha rolled their Nissan out of 17th place overall and required assistance. They waited for Taylor and Mohr, who had started the stage two and a half hours after them, and were able to continue after repairs.
“We were going well when we received the call to stop and assist the Portuguese,” said Mohr, a former national off road co-driver champion. “The Navara needed an air filter and oil to get going again. We lost about half an hour, but managed to make up enough time to finish in 45th place out of the 67 trucks and retain our 38th place overall.
“This is the first time we have had to stop to help,” said the 33-year-old from Crowthorne in Gauteng. “(multiple South African off road and enduro motorcycle champion and Dakar legend) Alfie Cox is the leading Team Overdrive Nissan in 14th place overall and the other three bakkies built by Glyn Hall and his Hallspeed team are all running strongly inside the top 30 positions.”
“The first two special stages have been a steep learning curve for me,” said Taylor. “The liaison stages before and after the racing stage are quite boring and have given me the chance to get used to the big MAN truck. Now we are nearing the sandy desert stages and the real test will begin.
“We will be doing a shorter version of Tuesday’s special stage three than the cars as the route goes through thick bush and there are branches at windscreen height that will make it dangerous for the trucks.”
Special stage three is a 500-km test for the cars and 226 km for the trucks between San Miguel de Tucuman and San Salvador de Jujuy. The route pushes further north towards Wednesday’s crossing over the Andes Mountains into Chile. The stage is split into two halves separated by a neutralised section. The first half plunges into desert canyons with the second portion providing a stark contrast of thick forest and bush.
STORY COURTESY OF PETER BURROUGHES COMMUNICATION
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