Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa shows pace and resilience in Stage 3 of Dakar Rally

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA) showed a mix of strong pace and determined recovery on Stage 3 of the 2026 Dakar Rally, overcoming punctures and challenging terrain to move up the leaderboard. 

Guy Botterill and Oriol Mena in Car No.218 led the way for the team with a third-place stage finish, while Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet (Car No.213) and João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (Car No.240) faced tougher runs but kept within striking distance of the leaders.

Early stages set the scene

The rally began with a steady, disciplined start for TGRSA. The Prologue on Saturday went smoothly, with all three crews finishing safely inside the top 20. Stage 1 delivered clean finishes and solid pace, with cars returning to the bivouac in good condition.

Stage 2 from Yanbu to AlUla presented a sterner test, covering a 400km special stage within a total of just over 500km. The mix of fast stretches, rocky tracks, and navigation challenges demanded mechanical care and strategic driving.

Ferreira and Palmeiro finished fifth on the stage despite a slow puncture. They managed to move into sixth overall, just over two minutes off the lead.

Variawa and Cazalet ran at the sharp end for much of Stage 2 but suffered a puncture in the final 100km. They finished 10th and were ninth overall at +4:34. For Botterill and Mena Stage 2 tested endurance. An early puncture and hydraulic jack failure left them without power steering for nearly 200km. They reached AlUla in 25th overall at +32:46.

Stage 3: AlUla loop tests crews

Following the challenges of the first two stages, Stage 3 covered a 421km special stage within a total of 736km, featuring changing terrain, complex navigation, and no mid-stage tyre resupply. Accuracy and mechanical sympathy were as important as speed.

Botterill and Mena produced an impressive performance to finish third on the stage, 5 minutes 23 seconds behind the winner. Starting deep in the field after Stage 2 setbacks, they battled dust, traffic, and three punctures. 

“Today was a good day for us,” said Botterill. “We started far down in the field, so we had a challenging run through the traffic and a lot of dust. We got three punctures and had to limp over the line with a flat, but everything paid off. Oriol was fantastic on the notes, we could see a lot of people getting lost and he was right on the money. 

“The main thing is we brought back a lot of time and the car performed really well.”

Variawa and Cazalet finished 17th, 16 minutes 55 seconds off the stage winner. They ran strongly through sandy sections and passed multiple competitors before three punctures in the stony second half slowed them.

“Today went quite well at the start, especially in the soft sand,” said Variawa. “We had really good pace, caught and passed a few cars and even passed Loeb. Then the terrain became very stony and we picked up three punctures in total. The road book was tricky and navigation was tough, but we were on it. Everything is okay with the car and I think we’re in a decent place heading into the marathon.”

Meanwhile, Ferreira and Palmeiro faced two punctures early in the stage and were forced to drive carefully, finishing 28th, 29 minutes 21 seconds down. “It was a tough one, very long and much more stony than we expected,” said Ferreira. 

“We had two punctures at the beginning and had to drive very slowly and carefully after that to avoid more problems. But we survived, and now we focus on the marathon stage.”

After three stages, Variawa and Cazalet are ninth overall at +10:57, Ferreira and Palmeiro 15th at +20:50, and Botterill and Mena 17th at +27:37.

Stage 4 marks Dakar’s first Marathon stage, 452km from AlUla to the Marathon Refuge. 

Crews will face no external assistance overnight, making reliability, careful decision-making, and car preservation critical.

DAKAR RALLY 2026 – STAGE 3 RESULTS

1st: M. Guthrie / K. Walch (Ford Racing) – 4h04m32s

2nd: M. Prokop / V. Chytka (Orlen Jipocar Team) – +02:27

3rd: G. Botterill / O. Mena (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +05:23

4th: L. Moraes / D. Zenz (The Dacia Sandriders) – +05:46

5th: C. Gutierrez / P. Moreno (The Dacia Sandriders) – +05:57

6th: N. Roma / A. Haro (Ford Racing) – +07:20

7th: C. Sainz / L. Cruz (Ford Racing) – +07:31

8th: M. Serradori / L. Minaudier (Century Racing Factory Team) – +07:32

9th: M. Ekström / E. Bergvist (Ford Racing) – +07:36

10th: D. Krotov / K. Zhiltsov (M-Sport Rally Raid Team) – +09:24

17th: S. Variawa / F. Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +16:55

28th: J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +29:21

DAKAR RALLY 2026 – STANDINGS AFTER STAGE 3

1st: M. Guthrie / K. Walch (Ford Racing) – 11h27m20s

2nd: M. Prokop / V. Chytka (Orlen Jipocar Team) – +00:26

3rd: M. Ekström / E. Bergvist (Ford Racing) – +01:08

4th: C. Sainz / L. Cruz (Ford Racing) – +03:34

5th: N. Roma / A. Haro (Ford Racing) – +04:02

6th: L. Moraes / D. Zenz (The Dacia Sandriders) – +05:16

7th: C. Gutierrez / P. Moreno (The Dacia Sandriders) – +05:59

8th: M. Serradori / L. Minaudier (Century Racing Factory Team) – +09:06

9th: S. Variawa / F. Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +10:57

10th: N. Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin (The Dacia Sandriders) – +11:39

15th: J. Ferreira / F. Palmeiro (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +20:50

17th: G. Botterill / O. Mena (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) – +27:37