Toyo tyres win first 3 stages of Dakar 2013

Toyo Tires equipped vehicles have won the opening three stages of the 2013 Dakar rally. Open Country M/T-R tyres won Stages 1 – 3 thanks to Team Qatar Red Bull. This year’s Dakar rally runs 5 – 20 January and is nearly 5,000 miles in length. The route runs southward from Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile.

During the short 13km Stage 1 from Lima to Pisco in Peru, Carlos Sainz of Spain won the stage with his #303 Team Qatar Red Bull buggy. Team owner, Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, piloted his #300 Team Qatar Red Bull buggy to a third place finish. Both cars were built in California and feature American V8 horsepower driving 37×13.50R17 Open Country M/T-R tyres.

Also competing on Open Country M/T-R tyres are American Robby Gordon, and Eric Vigouroux of France. Gordon led the 2012 Dakar and was a favorite to win overall, capturing three stage wins with a total of seven podiums. During Stage 1 of the 2013 race, his #315 SPEED Energy / Toyo Tires /

MAPEI HUMMER was challenged with a transmission issue which cost valuable time.