SAA Cargo moves racing vehicles for Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team at 2019 Dakar Rally

Jan 7, 2019: South African Airways Cargo (SAA Cargo) is the official airfreight partner of the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Team at the 2019 Dakar Rally. The race takes place from 6 to 17 January in Peru, South America. The Dakar Rally is one of the biggest motorsports events in the world and is seen as the pinnacle in off-road motor racing and the ultimate test of vehicle durability.

The partnership, which has been in place since 2012, involves transportation of the racing vehicles to Sao Paulo, Brazil en route to Lima, Peru for the start. The shipment consists of two vehicles and spares, which weigh about 8500 kgs.

“Transporting our race cars to South America could take months if we sent them via sea freight,” explained Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team Principal, Glyn Hall. “But thanks to our partnership with SAA Cargo, the transport time is vastly reduced, giving us extra time to develop and prepare the cars for the race.”

It takes nearly a day for the shipment to reach its destination. “The long-standing partnership is a demonstration of trust placed on us by Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team to handle their most valuable shipment. Through this partnership, we can showcase SAA Cargo’s capability as the provider of air freight solutions. It takes about two months to prepare for the journey, in order to ensure seamless transportation. At the centre of this, is our commitment to deliver consistently on customer expectations. We rely on our capable team to make it possible,” said Justice Luthuli, SAA Cargo’s Acting General Manager.

The 41st edition of the Dakar Rally will start and end in Lima, Peru. The event takes place over a period of 11 days and involves 10 racing stages. There will be 450 cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads which will cover a total distance of some 6 500 kilometers.

“The team has, without fail over the years, achieved Top Five finishes at the Dakar Rally. We strongly believe that they will again impress this year, and wish them best of luck,” said Luthuli.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team will be represented by veteran Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz; Nasser Al Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel; and Dutch driver Bernhard ten Brinke with navigator Xavier Panseri next to him.