TGR's Lucas Moraes retakes Rally dos Sertoes lead on Stage 4
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's (TGR) Lucas Moraes and co-driver Kaíque Bentivoglio secured another impressive stage victory in the 2024 Rally dos Sertões, winning the first part of the marathon stage and reclaiming the overall lead of the rally. The duo, racing in the Toyota GR DKR Hilux #323, navigated the challenging course through Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia, to emerge victorious in Stage 4 of the rally.
Stage 4 marked the opening leg of the marathon stage of the 32nd edition of the Sertões Rally. The route was 263 km of timed special, and the marathon format meant limited time for car adjustments, requiring teams to rely heavily on their own endurance and technical skills.
Lucas and Kaíque, starting the day in second place, quickly closed the gap to their closest rivals, Adroaldo Weisheimer and Beco Andreotti (Toyota Hilux). The stage was running smoothly until a dramatic incident unfolded — Weisheimer and Andreotti’s car overturned in front of the TGR duo. Demonstrating sportsmanship and concern for their competitors, Lucas and Kaíque stopped to assist, ensuring that both driver and navigator were unharmed before resuming their race.
Despite the stoppage, Lucas and Kaíque maintained their focus and pace to complete the stage in 2h 16m 49s, finishing 1m 19s ahead of second-place finishers Marcelo Gastaldi and Cadu Sachs. Lucas’s father, Marcos Moraes, alongside navigator Fábio Pedroso, completed the top three with a time of 2h 19m 47s.
With the victory, Lucas and Kaíque moved back into the overall lead, now holding a total time of 9h 59m 59s. They lead Marcelo Gastaldi and Cadu Sachs by 8m 48s, while Marcos Moraes and Fábio Pedroso remain in third place, trailing by 11m 17s.
The cars will face the second part of the marathon on Wednesday, which features a challenging route with 418 km of timed racing still in Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia. The stage is marked by a mix of farm roads, narrow and sandy paths, winding sections, and demanding mountain ascents with rocky terrains and sharp erosions. Competitors will need to navigate through various neutralisation zones, including sections on tarmac roads and through villages, where they may encounter other competitors in the opposite direction.
Key challenges include a narrow ascent and descent of a mountain with several “Danger 03” zones due to large rocks and erosions, requiring utmost caution and precision driving. As the route progresses, it will open up to faster sections on wide roads, allowing competitors to push their vehicles to the limit, although they must still contend with unpredictable terrain, including hidden holes, narrow bridges, and water crossings.
The rules of the marathon stage limit servicing time to just 90 minutes, where only the drivers and navigators can perform repairs without any external assistance. This will test the endurance and reliability of both the drivers and their vehicles, adding an extra layer of difficulty as the rally heads towards its final destination in Brasília on 31 August.
Quotes:
Lucas Moraes,
"The special was very clean for us and we quickly closed the gap to Adroaldo and Beco. We had about 20 seconds on them, and suddenly they made a turn and overturned in front of us. It was a frightening scene, very bad to see. We stopped, Kaíque went down to check that everything was OK, and thank God they were. We managed to win the stage, no problems, and are back in the overall lead. It feels great to win another stage and get back to the overall lead.”
Rally dos Sertões 2024 –Stage 4 Results
| 1 | #323 | L. Moraes / K. Bentivoglio | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | 02hr 16min 49sec |
| 2 | #301 | M. Gastaldi / C. Sachs | (Century CR7) | +01:39 |
| 3 | #308 | M. Moraes / F. Pedroso | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | +02:58 |
| 4 | #348 | C. Ambriosio / L. Poli | (Century CR7) | +05:51 |
| 5 | #318 | L. Nacif / E. Rocha | (Ford Ranger) | +06:34 |
| 6 | #331 | F. Lunardi / F. Bedtikevitz | (Ford Ranger) | +06:48 |
| 7 | #310 | G. Spinelli / P. Fiuza | (Mitsubishi Triton Ultimate Racing) | +07:09 |
| 8 | #304 | P. Queirolo / L. Sobreira | (Buggy Giaffone V8) | +07:30 |
| 9 | #320 | A. Buchheim / M. Falcao | (Buggy Giaffone V8) | +09:58 |
| 10 | #332 | J. Silmar / A. Antunes | (Ford Ranger) | +10:24 |
Rally dos Sertões 2024 – Classifications after Stage 4
| 1 | #323 | L. Moraes / K. Bentivoglio | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | 09hr 59min 59sec |
| 2 | #301 | M. Gastaldi / C. Sachs | (Century CR7) | +08:48 |
| 3 | #308 | M. Moraes / F. Pedroso | (Toyota GR DKR Hilux) | +11:17 |
| 4 | #348 | C. Ambriosio / L. Poli | (Century CR7) | +25:02 |
| 5 | #310 | G. Spinelli / P. Fiuza | (Mitsubishi Triton Ultimate Racing) | +33:23 |
| 6 | #318 | L. Nacif / E. Rocha | (Ford Ranger) | +34:24 |
| 7 | #320 | A. Buchheim / M. Falcao | (Buggy Giaffone V8) | +43:39 |
| 8 | #332 | J. Silmar / A. Antunes | (Ford Ranger) | +46:14 |
| 9 | #365 | A. Tozoni / C. Xavier | (Caype T-Rex) | +50:23 |
| 10 | #360 | M. Marcondes / A. Neto | (Mitsubishi L200 Evolution) | +54:02 |
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.
