- First on Stage 10 for Al Attiyah/Baumel
- Fourth victory in 2019 for Al Attiyah/Baumel
- First driver to win Dakar and Silk Way in same year
JIAYUGUAN, CHINA – Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Nasser Al Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel brought their South African-built Toyota Hilux home in first place on Stage 10 of the 2019 Silk Way Rally to give them a clean sweep of victories in all 10 stages.
It was an historic victory for the Team Hilux crew.
”Stage 10,” according to a media release from Toyota SA, ”was no pushoverwith a timed section of 255km and liaisons of 301km. The stage had sand, gravel tracks and rocky river crossings and SA Toyota Hilux was first into the fray.
”The pair had a clean run, posting 2hr27min30 over the distance, beating the fellow-Toyota Hilux driver Erik van Loon by 2min25sec on the day but in the final standings Al Attiyah/Baumel won by more than an hour, stamping their authority on what is widely regarded as the world’s second-toughest cross-country rally in the world.”
The other, of course, is the Dakar.
READ MORE RALLY features on Carman’s Corner
It was the SA crew’s fourth win so far in 2019, each in the same bakkie built at Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s HQ in Barbeque Downs, near South Africa’s Kyalami circuit. First was the Dakar, then came the Qatar Cross-Country Rally and Rally Kazakhstan – and finally the Silk Way.
Glyn Hall, Gazoo Racing SA’s team boss, said after the race: “We’re not only extremely proud of Nasser and Mathieu but also the bakkie we built for them. It proved yet again just how tough it is – and winning all 10 stages proves it’s also very fast over rough terrain.”
The 2019 Silk Way Rally stared in Russia on July 6 2019 with cars, bakkies, trucks, and motorcycles setting off on a 10-stage journey that took them from Russia, through Mongolia, and into China.
carmanscorner.co.za 