Early lead for TGR's Lucas Moraes at Rally dos Sertoes 2024
The 2024 Rally dos Sertões has kicked off with a bang, and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Lucas Moraes, alongside co-driver Kaíque Bentivoglio, has taken an early lead in the race. The team is competing with their race-proven GR DKR Hilux T1+ in what is widely recognised as one of the toughest and longest rally-raid events in the world. Despite the event not being part of the official World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) calendar, the Rally dos Sertões remains a significant challenge for all involved.
The event commenced on 23 August with a thrilling Super Prime event in Brasília, where Lucas Moraes demonstrated significant skills in a highly anticipated father-son duel. Lucas and Kaíque set the fastest time in the 11 km prologue and later faced Lucas’s father, Marcos Moraes, in the Super Prime final. The competition, which took place at the BRB Mané Garrincha Arena, ended with Lucas narrowly securing victory, an emotional moment for both drivers, with the pair sharing a heartfelt hug at the finish line.
Unfortunately, due to the collapse of a bridge at 86.45 km, Stage 1 of the rally was cancelled. The stage cancellation was necessary to ensure the safety of all participants, and the rally continued with a free transit to Formosa.
As such, Stage 2, covering a total of 257.53 km of competitive racing, marked the first real test of the rally. This stage featured a variety of terrains, from fast, rally-like roads to narrow, challenging sections with speed bumps, erosions, and creek crossings. The route also included a neutralisation section for refuelling between 124 km and 173 km, followed by a fast final section that took competitors to Santa Maria da Vitória, BA.
Lucas Moraes and Kaíque Bentivoglio continued their dominant performance, securing the fastest time of the day with a total time of 3 hours, 9 minutes, and 28 seconds. They were closely followed by Adroaldo Weisheiner and Beco Andreotti, also driving a Toyota Hilux, who finished 1 minute and 12 seconds behind.
The current standings following Stage 2 see Lucas Moraes in the overall lead, with a 1-minute and 12-second advantage over the second-place competitors. Marcos Moraes, Lucas’s father, is currently in fourth place, continuing to keep the pressure on the leaders.
Looking ahead to Stage 3, the competitors will face another challenging section of the rally, covering a total distance of 334 km. The stage begins with a narrow section filled with large holes and erosions, followed by medium-width and wider road sections that vary from hard surfaces to sandy tracks. Key features of the stage include a 7 km uphill stretch of heavy sand at around 100 km, a stone-bottomed creek crossing at 135 km, and several fast, medium-width road sections interspersed with dangerous erosions and depressions.
The final stretch of the stage, from 296 km to 321 km, offers a fast, well-surfaced road where competitors can push their vehicles to the maximum. However, caution is required as the stage also includes several hazardous points, including narrow passages and large erosions. With two neutralisation zones for refuelling at 88 km and 268 km, managing fuel and vehicle performance will be critical for all teams.
QUOTES:
Lucas Moraes:
“We chose to start in second place, and then we caught the car in front of us, but our system to overtake, for some reason, didn’t work as expected. Maybe he didn’t receive the signal. But overall, the track was really nice—fast in the beginning, and then after the neutralisation, it became a little more twisty with a lot of dust. It was a very dusty day, but again, the strategy is to keep building day by day. Still long days ahead of us, so yeah, great day, started with the win, always nice.”
Rally dos Sertões 2024 – Stage 2 Results & Classifications*
| 1 | #323 | L. Moraes / K. Bentivoglio | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | 3Hr 09min 28sec |
| 2 | #340 | A. Weisheimer / B. Andreotti | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | +01:12 |
| 3 | #301 | M. Gastaldi / C. Sachs | (Century CR7) | +04:33 |
| 4 | #308 | M. Moraes / F. Pedroso | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | +05:06 |
| 5 | #348 | C. Ambriosio / L. Poli | (Century CR7) | +12:48 |
| 6 | #318 | L. Nacif / E. Rocha | (Ford Ranger) | +14:56 |
| 7 | #310 | G. Spinelli / P. Fiuza | (Mitsubishi Triton Ultimate Racing) | +15:53 |
| 8 | #311 | G. Fontoura / F. Bianchini | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | +16:02 |
| 9 | #388 | G. Hinkelmann / W. Moreira | (Polaris RZR Pro R Ultimate) | +17:02 |
| 10 | #320 | A. Buchheim / M. Falcao | (Buggy Giaffone V8) | +17:55 |
*Results reflect times after Stage 2, since Stage 1 was cancelled
Partners
Red Bull has established itself as the premiere supporter of extreme sports and athletes, and as such fits perfectly with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Dakar and W2RC efforts. The Austrian energy drink manufacturer has partnered with TGR over numerous years, and the involvement bore fruit when the team won a second Dakar title in January 2022, and a third in 2023.
SpeedMax is a CantuStore's private label, which is the largest omnichannel platform and leader in tire replacement market in Brazil. SpeedMax promotes maximum performance through high-performance tires that suit all types of vehicles, from passenger cars to trucks and tractors, as well as inner tubes and truck wheels.
