Stage 4 bites back in Argentina
- Rare day without a podium finish for TGR crews
- Moraes and Monleon drop to 7th overall
- Quintero and Zenz lie 12th in standings
For the first time at the 2024 Desafío Ruta 40, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews were unable to capture a spot on the podium, as Stage 4 lived up to its billing as being of the toughest at this year’s race. Stage 2 victors Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon finished the day in 17th place, while Stage 3 winners Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz ended in 20th spot.
The penultimate Stage of the 12th edition of the Desafío Ruta 40 saw competitors travel a total of 657 km from San Juan to La Rioja along a route that had it all – rocks, asphalt, chotts and the only dune section of this year’s event. Race director Pablo Eli described the stage as being extremely varied, with the changes coming in distinct blocks.
It was varied, and unforgiving, as Moraes and Monleon suffered a broken right rear damper midway through the stage. The men who conquered all on Tuesday were unable to replicate that performance as they had to take it easy over the final 100 km in order to bring their GR DKR Hilux T1+ safely to the finish line. They did so in a time of 04h 41min 47sec, which was just over an hour off the pace.
Meanwhile, just as their teammates had done a day earlier, Quintero and Zenz were tasked with opening the road in the Ultimate class following their brilliant win in Stage 3. Victory comes at a cost, and taking over the trail-blazing responsibilities certainly proved costly. The pair lost valuable minutes early on due to the difficult navigation conditions as well as suspension issues. That culminated in a broken damper late in the stage, and while that brought them to a standstill, Moraes and Monleon came to their teammates’ rescue, offering assistance so that both teams could reach the finish.
The duo came home in 05h 23min 12sec.
The disappointing day saw Lucas and Armand drop out of the top 3 in the overall standings, as they moved to 7th, while Seth and Dennis’ wonderful week was curtailed somewhat as they now sit in 12th position.
The TGR crews will be desperate and determined to hit back in Friday’s 5th and final stage, as the 2024 Desafío Ruta 40 comes to a close. Competitors will head back to Córdoba over a total distance of 519 km with gravel dominating the route.
QUOTES:
Alain Dujardyn, W2RC Team Principal:
"This is a day, not to forget, but rather to learn from. Yes, it’s incredibly disappointing, especially given our back-to-back wins in Stage 2 and Stage 3, and we expected big things given that Seth and Lucas had effectively switched their starting positions from Wednesday, heading into Stage 4. Motorsport brings us the highest highs, but also the lowest lows, and at least we’re able to learn when things go wrong.
We’ll continue our never-ending quest of ‘Ever Better Development’, further strengthening our GR DKR Hilux EVO from rally to rally. Whilst our chances for Desafío Ruta 40 podium positions have virtually vanished, we’ll keep up the fight on Friday for more W2RC stage points to stay well in contention.”
Lucas Moraes:
“Tough day at the office. I’m very sad for the team because, having won two stages already the strategy was coming along quite nicely. But sometimes things don’t work out. We had a problem with the suspension today. All the oil came out and we had to drive very slowly over 200 km, as if we were in cruising mode. And at least we finished the stage. We are still top 7 overall. Maybe we can fight for top 5 tomorrow. Thanks to the team. Let's hit back in the final stage.”
Seth Quintero:
“What a difference a day makes. Given the highs of yesterday, today was exceptionally disappointing. But we will continue to fight and I have full confidence in the team that we can finish strong.”
DESAFÍO RUTA 40 – STAGE 4 RESULTS
| 1 | #200 | N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger | (Nasser Racing by Prodrive) | 03h 39min 15sec |
| 2 | #202 | Y. Al Rajhi / T. Gottschalk | (Toyota Overdrive) | +03:08 |
| 3 | #300 | R. Baciuska / S. Delaunay | (CAN-AM Factory Team) | +15:22 |
| 4 | #211 | S. Halpern / B. Graue | (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) | +16:48 |
| 5 | #302 | N. Cavigliasso / V. Pertegarini | (Taurus) | +18:50 |
| 6 | #208 | D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov | (Toyota Overdrive) | +19:07 |
| 7 | #306 | D. Akeel / S. Duple | (BBR) | +20:43 |
| 8 | #303 | M. Gastaldi / C. Sachs | (BBR) | +26:34 |
| 9 | #312 | H. Garces / J. Latrach | (South Racing CAN-AM) | +32:46 |
| 10 | #311 | L. Del Rio / B. Jacomy | (Team Chile) | +32:50 |
| 17 | #203 | L. Moraes / A. Monleon | (Toyota GAZOO Racing) | +01:02:32 |
| 20 | #206 | S. Quintero / D. Zenz | (Toyota GAZOO Racing) | +01:55:57 |
DESAFÍO RUTA 40 – STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 4
| 1 | #200 | (Toyota Overdrive) | 15h 02min 54sec | |
| 2 | #200 | (Nasser Racing by Prodrive) | +00:13 | |
| 3 | #200 | (X-Raid Mini JCW Team) | +37:00 | |
| 4 | #200 | (Toyota Overdrive) | +53:56 | |
| 5 | #200 | (CAN-AM Factory Team) | +01:04:13 | |
| 6 | #200 | (X Rally Team Motorsport | +01:04:33 | |
| 7 | #200 | (Toyota GAZOO Racing) | +01:08:27 | |
| 8 | #200 | (Taurus) | +01:13:36 | |
| 9 | #200 | (BBR) | +01:27:05 | |
| 10 | #200 | (BBR) | +01:27:50 | |
| 12 | #200 | (Toyota GAZOO Racing) | +02:20:55 |
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.
