LIMA – Tim and Tom Coronel have made it to the finish of the 2019 Dakar Rally. After one of the hardest editions in history of the endurance event, the two were allowed to drive their car over the finish ramp in Lima.
The 2019 event took place within the national borders of Peru. Anyone thinking that this year’s event would be easier than the ones in previous years as a result was soon proved massively wrong. One competitor after another retired early. Even on the final day, a short stage of just over a hundred kilometres, things still went wrong for several entrants.
For Tim and Tom Coronel, the Dakar Rally was a mixed affair. Some really fantastic days alternated with less favourable moments. On one occasion, the two had to spend the night in the desert and the final serious stage could only be completed with a bent front wheel suspension. Notwithstanding all the challenges, the twins crossed the finish line after 5,500 highly demanding kilometres. The final day was quite tough as well, as Tim reported at the finish: “One probably would have expected a nice little tour, but it was anything but. We started in reversed order of the standings, so we soon found ourselves leading the field. Like that, you have no trails to follow, so you have to pick the right dunes for yourself. That cost us quite some energy, but we made it!”
Tom added: “I would say that this was our best Dakar ever. We really only had little trouble, all issues we had last year were dealt with quite well. A few times, we were able to push nicely so we more or less achieved our goals. The only thing that didn’t happen: I didn’t get to drive. That was the plan, but I was enjoying myself so much sitting alongside Tim that we left it that way. It all simply felt well, so we decided not to change. But we most certainly will do so next year!”
Tim is looking back on the testing fortnight in South America with a positive feeling: “As far as I am concerned it was a very, very, successful Dakar. I am really satisfied. ‘The Beast 2.0’ really did well on the points we had worked on. Now we have some other points to improve. Let’s go for 3.0!” Tom concluded: “I am really glad that we have managed it again with this team and our partners and connections. Only few cars made it to the finish, but we were among them and that it what matters.”
