The dust has settled, the dunes have been reshaped and South Africa’s best-selling bakkie for more than 30 years continued to make a big impact on the global stage of the world’s toughest motor race.The 2013 Dakar Rally officially came to an end on Sunday 20 January 2013, after a very successful race for the Toyota Imperial SA team who finished second overall.

The race started in Lima on the Pacific west coast and took entry to 449 cars, trucks, motorcycles and quads, on a 250 kilometre liaison section followed by a 13-kilometre special stage that ended in Pisco.

Summary of 2013 Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally Stage 1 – Confident start by team Toyota’s De Villiers and Vos

2009 Dakar winners Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz in a #301 Hilux completed the special stage in a time of 8 min 15 sec, 35 seconds behind 2010 Dakar winner Carlos Sainz of Spain and Timo Gottschalk of Germany in a buggy.

Dakar Rally Stage 2 – Several top contenders lose time with navigating problems

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz completed the 242 kilometre special stage 2 min 35 seconds behind Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret of France, who lead the rally overall by 2 min 38 sec from the South Africans. Duncan Vos and Rob Howie finished 14th at 22 min 40 sec behind Peterhansel and Cottret.

Dakar Rally Stage 3 – Dakar Rally takes its toll

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz suffered a navigational setback, while Vos and Howie were forced to retire with a damaged roll cage.

Dakar Rally Stage 4 – De Villiers and navigator von Zitzewitz improve their overall position to third

After suffering a 30 minute navigational set back on special Stage 3, Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz managed to master the longest and toughest stage of the rally and improved their overall position to third.

Dakar Rally Stage 5 – Top ten positions remain unchanged

The top 10 overall positions remained unchanged but Argentineans Lucio Alvarez and Roland Graue in their South African built Toyota Hilux improved by two places to settle at 25th overall after losing three hours on Tuesday with a damaged suspension.

Dakar Rally Stage 6 – De Villiers holds on to third place

The stage totalled 767km with a 454km special stage that was expected to shake-up the leader board but Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz were able to hold on to their overall third position. They ended the stage 42 minutes 31 seconds behind Peterhansel and Cottret.

Dakar Rally Stage 7 – Trouble free run for De Villiers and another successful finish

After a demanding week, Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz still managed to retain their overall third place position in the seventh stage which was between Calama in Chile and Salta in Argentina.

Dakar Rally Stage 8 – Rain causes delay

Although rain caused a delay, the stage was won by Guerlain Chicherit and Jean-Pierre Garcin of France in a two-wheel drive SMG Buggy. De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz were 44 minutes 3 seconds behind the leaders still maintaining the third position.

Dakar Rally Stage 9 – De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz move up to 2nd overall

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz had an excellent start to Stage 9 as they led the first half of the two-part 593km special stage between San Miguel de Tucuman and Cordoba in Argentina, which moved them into second place overall, 49 minutes behind leaders Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret (Mini).

Dakar Rally Stage 10 – Toyota Imperial South Africa team consolidates 2nd place

The 632km Stage 10 will took place on the field north from Cordoba to La Rioja in Argentina and saw the Toyota Imperial South Africa Team’s Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz consolidate their second place in the general classification of the Dakar Rally.

Dakar Rally Stage 11 – Rain brings race to a halt

Rain stopped play and Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz were leading at the 110 kilometre mark but race officials declared the stage result as per the positions at the earlier CP1 (control point 1).

Dakar Rally Stage 12 – De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz in third place

Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz placed third on the 319km special stage between Fiambala and Copiapo in Argentina and were within 50 minutes of the overall leaders and defending champions Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret of France.

Dakar Rally Stage 13 and 14 – De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz close in on second successive Dakar podium

The duo completed the penultimate special stage 13 between Copiapo and La Serena in Chile in fourth place, then cemented their second place overall in stage 14 , closing the gap on leaders and defending champions Stephane Peterhansel and Jean Paul Cottret of France.

Dakar Rally Final Stage 15 results – Second place for De Villiers and Von Zitzewitz

It was their second successive podium finish in an Imperial Toyota Hilux in the world’s longest and toughest motor race – they were third last year at Toyota Motorsport’s first attempt – and they won the T1.1 class for petrol-powered 4×4 improved cross-country vehicles for the second year in succession.