- The Repsol Toyota Rally Team is ranked 13th in the Ultimate category, in a 325-kilometer special stage over all types of terrain.
- The driver from Ilerdense and his co-driver Txema Villalobos lift the Toyota Hilux T1+ to 12th place overall in its category (20th place overall).
- “It has been the longest, most beautiful and most varied stage of the rally. The car is going very well and we continue with a very good pace, safe and without mistakes”.
Isidre Esteve has uncorked the pot of essences in the Rally of Morocco. The Repsol Toyota Rally Team has signed its best partial result of the week on Wednesday, in the longest special stage of the race, 325 kilometers, to which have been added another 360 of liaison (685 in total). Together with Txema Villalobos, the driver supported by Repsol, MGS Seguros and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain competed for 3 hours, 51 minutes and 9 seconds (33 minutes behind the first), and completed the stage in 13th position in the Ultimate category. Overall, the Toyota Hilux T1+ number 222 is 12th in Ultimate and is already in the absolute top 20.
The third day of the Rally of Morocco marked the passing of the halfway point of the event in the so-called queen stage, which took the caravan from Zagora to the bivouac located between Mengoub and Bouârfa, in the northeast of the country. In an area that was less affected by the rains of the previous weeks, the riders and drivers enjoyed a truly “Dakar-like” special stage on all types of terrain.
“It was the longest, most beautiful and most varied stage. It had fast tracks, we crossed the dunes of the Erg Chebbi, we ran inside the oueds, with fesh-fesh, with gravel… It was fantastic”, says the Oliana rider, satisfied with the team’s performance on a key day of the Moroccan rally.
Esteve has not only run a lot with the Toyota Hilux T1+ with the adapted controls on the steering wheel, he has also overcome with solvency the sandy areas, which were a substantial part of the stage. “Txema has been very good in the dunes, because there were few traces and it was very difficult to know where to go, although we always had a clear idea of the course we had to follow”, says the driver from Lleida.
The proof that the Repsol Toyota Rally Team has attacked to the maximum, without holding anything back, is that towards the end of the special stage a rear shock absorber broke, a minor setback in such a hard day. “It must have been about 40 kilometers to go when we noticed it. After a short while we stopped in case it was a puncture, and we had to ease off a bit on the final stretch. We lost a few minutes, but we are very happy. The car is going very well and we continue with a very good pace, safe and without mistakes”, he says.
Isidre Esteve’s great performance is also a good endorsement for Repsol’s work behind the scenes. The Toyota Hilux T1+ of the Repsol Toyota Rally Team uses the Spanish oil company’s lubricants and, in addition, the renewable fuel developed at the Repsol Technology Lab, 70% of which is produced from organic waste. The team’s upward performance on the toughest test bench imaginable translates into valuable data and lessons learned for Repsol’s engineers.
Two loops around the bivouac located between Mengoub and Bouârfa await the competitors in the final stretch of the Morocco Rally – the last round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) – as the rally moves further north and explores new places. This Thursday, the first loop will be a 315-kilometer special stage, the second longest of the race, with just 62 kilometers of liaison.
Automatic translation of the Spanish version
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally Team
