Yesterday Giniel De Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz lost some valuable time in the Dakar Rally when the road literally closed in front of them and cut them off from the riders in front.
According to De Villiers, they were driving and came to a place where they needed to cross a river. In a matter of seconds the water level of the river had risen so rapidly that it became impossible for the Toyota South African team to cross the river.
De Villiers described it as a Tsunami coming down the river, and that the river had risen almost a metre in a matter of minutes, cutting them off from the riders in front who were able to cross.
According to De Villiers they lost almost an hour while they waited for the river to become accessible again.
If they had crossed the river they would have likely damaged the Toyota Hilux in such a way that they would not have been able to complete the rest of the rally.
Hopefully, the organisers of the 2013 Dakar Rally will look into the incident and consider the circumstances carefully. – 3D Car Shows/Gumtree
