There’s an old racing adage: to finish first, first you have to finish. It’s true across the board, but it takes on a special meaning when you’re talking about the Dakar Rally.
We’d share this sage sentiment with Team Toyo racers BJ Baldwin, Guerlain Chicherit and Robby Gordon, were it not a case of rubbing a scooped handful of South American salt in some very fresh wounds.
Team Toyo will remember 2014 as the year that Murphy’s Law came into effect at the Dakar Rally; if it could go wrong, it did for our boys. Transmissions, engines, frames – nothing was safe. In fact, would you like to hazard a guess at the only part of the trucks that didn’t fail?
Well, with a small measure of pride, we can tell you – the tyres. The Toyo Open Country tyres that Team Toyo was running on didn’t puncture, fail or blow. That’s three separate racers – Robby, BJ and Guerlain – who didn’t have to change a single tyre for their entire Dakar campaign. Compare that with the front-running Minis, which were blowing three or four tyres a stage… per car.
Guerlain Chicherit takes on Dakar; Dakar responds by setting fire to his car
Even though Guerlain’s tyres didn’t fail, they probably aren’t good for very much now – considering that the Chevrolet he was driving gave itself a Viking funeral halfway through the race.
After jury-rigging a series of fixes to the fuelling system throughout the rally’s early days, Guerlain was leading the pack from checkpoint one when a transmission gremlin forced him to pull over for another quick ‘MacGyvering’ session.
“The stage was hard, with the track winding through tonnes of rocks and lots of dust,” said Guerlain.
“But when everyone got flat tyres, we were fine on our Toyos.
“We were leading the race at checkpoint one, but just after the checkpoint we started to have complications with the transmission.
“We stopped, fixed the problem and got back on the road, but shortly afterwards we felt the car was running really hot and jumped out again to check the problem, only to realise the car was on fire!
“A few minutes later, the car exploded… Alex and I are both okay, but we are very lucky.”
As Dakar Rally regulations require the possession of a mode of transport other than a decent pair of boots, Guerlain and co-driver Alexandre Winocq had to withdraw and head home.
BJ Baldwin loves his Toyo Tyres, not so much the threat of impending explosions
Not satisfied with an impromptu fireworks display, the maelstrom disguised as a 9000-kilometre endurance race^ found another truck to chew up and spit out. Unfortunately for BJ Baldwin, it just so happened to be the one he was driving.
After numerous fits and starts with fuelling issues, including vapour lock^^, BJ had a metaphorical mountain to climb to progress up the ladder, and a series of literal mountains to climb to do so.
Never deterred, BJ set about nursing his truck – now nicknamed ‘Gremlin’, for reasons that are probably obvious – along stage after gruelling stage.
“Nine days of desert racing and I didn’t have a single flat tyre,” said BJ.
“That said, getting vapour lock and being forced to wait for the fuel to recondense time after time made choosing the name Gremlin pretty easy.”
On day 10, however, the Dakar finally claimed BJ’s truck. The mounts holding the fuel cell failed, forcing the cell forward into the back of the water pump. The water pump, spinning as water pumps tend to, drilled a hole straight into the fuel cell. This caused fuel to leak out in much the same way that a tap does when you accidentally turn it on too far and realise too late that there’s a spoon in the sink.
With hot exhaust pipes mere centimetres below the leak, BJ made the entirely reasonable decision to avoid turning his truck into a mobile inferno by retiring from the race.
“After stage 10, we were servicing the truck and discovered a massive hole in the fuel cell,” said BJ.
“The fuel cell mounts failed, causing the fuel cell to apply pressure to the front of the engine's water pump, which drilled a hole in the fuel cell.
“Our only option was to attempt to patch the cell, replace the broken cell mounts, and try to continue, but we didn't know why the mounts broke, and logic dictates that if they could break once they could easily break again, rupturing the already weakened fuel cell.
“The exhaust system was close to the fuel leak in the cell, meaning fuel could easily ignite and cause the car to burst into flames.
“Driving the truck in that condition would be much too dangerous so, with my family in mind, it was an easy decision for me to discontinue the rally.
“The 2015 Dakar Rally is only a year away and I'm already preparing to compete again, this time with a more robust, well-tested truck that is better prepared for the rigours of Dakar.”
Robby Gordon left as Toyo’s last man standing; Dakar has other ideas
This left Robby Gordon as the sole remaining Team Toyo driver, with three stages left to run.
Robby had experienced similar fuelling issues as Guerlain and BJ, with one key difference – a lack of potential for his truck to spontaneously combust. This stroke of luck wasn’t to last, however – just 18 kilometres into the 11th stage, an air intake issue forced Robby to turn back and consider his options.
The repairs would take about 10 hours, and Robby was already about 10 hours behind the leading group. Apparently our Team Toyo drivers aren’t fond of the concept of quitting, so his team worked through the night to repair his HST Gordini (souped-up Hummer), with the hopes of a midnight run – literally – across the desert in the hopes of making it to the start of the next stage in time.
To continue, Robby had to get his HST Gordini to stage 11 within one hour of the last car departing for stage 12. Unfortunately, 749 kilometres across the moonlit desert to El Salvador just wasn’t possible in time, so Robby was forced to concede defeat, which he did gracefully.
“We gave it our best and didn’t quit until the clock wouldn’t allow us to continue,” said Robby.
“Without the vapour lock issues at the beginning of the rally and a few other minor issues, the new HST Gordini ran really well and I was pleased with its performance.
“We will work on it for the next year and have a much better understanding of the car for next year’s rally.
“I am very proud of the way everyone worked on Team Speed, and I appreciate the dedication and effort that everyone puts into everything we do.”
So, that’s it for another year. The world’s toughest race reminded us that just to stand up to Dakar without falling to pieces is an achievement. To convince your vehicle to do the same is almost legendary. To finish the 9000-kilometre torture test in good time is a minor miracle. And Dakar, as always, teaches its lessons the hard way.
^ Cars, bikes and trucks each follow a different route, with bikes covering a total distance of 8734 kilometres, cars 9374 kilometres, and trucks 9188 kilometres. The timed stages are roughly 5200 kilometres for bikes and trucks, and 5500 kilometres for cars.
^^ Vapour lock is when the petrol in your car’s fuel lines turns from liquid to gas, rendering any efforts to pump it useless. Modern cars have their fuel pumps inside the petrol tank to ensure a steady flow of liquid petrol, but the fuel cells fitted to race cars have the pump outside the cell.
Because the majority of the Atacama Desert lies more than 2400 metres above sea level, the Dakar route presents an interesting challenge for cars fitted with fuel cells. Due to the merciless nature of chemistry, petrol has a lower boiling point at high altitude. That means the heat from the Team Toyo trucks of BJ, Robby and Guerlain quickly overcame the boiling point of the petrol in the fuel cell, pump and lines, and hey presto, vapour lock.
So, now you know to cool your fuel lines if you’re ever attempting to cross the Andes!
