HENK LATEGAN
(zaf)Hobbies
rallying, riding enduro bikes
Sponsors
Toyota, Red Bull, Eurol, Kinto, Innovation Group
2022: 31st, 2 stage wins
2021: Ab. Stage 5
2022: South African cross-country series (2nd)
2021: South African cross-country series (1st)
2020: South African cross-country series champion
2019: South African cross-country series champion
Former eWRC and WRC driver
“We can be quick over a single day”
When he arrived on the Dakar in 2021, he was considered as the rising star of rally-raid, but the learning process was a rather tough one for Henk Lategan on the toughest rally there is. The South African grew up in the world of motorsports. At 15 years of age, he participated in his first regional event as his father Hein's co-driver. Less than a decade later, he became the youngest driver to win the South African rally-raid title. His career also led him to cross paths with his idol Sebastien Loeb on the roads of the Monte Carlo rally. He didn't know then that they would meet again on the Dakar. At the time, the young Henk raced exclusively in traditional rallies behind the wheel of a Skoda. In 2018, he switched to long-distance racing with the Toyota Gazoo team. But nothing is established on the Dakar. After a promising start, an excess of enthusiasm caught up with the South African who crashed and injured his shoulder. Fully focused on just finishing the event, 28 year-old Lategan couldn’t be entirely satisfied with his 31st spot last January after suffering quite a few navigation mistakes or mechanical upsets. He did however prove than on the odd day, he had the pace to capture two stage wins. Second of the South African championship behind his experienced team-mate Giniel De Villiers, Lategan shows up more prepared than ever. He will once again count on his co-driver Brett Cummings, a veteran biker who has finished the Dakar twice (2013, 2014).
H.L.: “Last year was a another learning year for us. The first year, I was afraid I would be a bit slow to start. So last year was definitely more about finding a comfortable pace that I could actually drive for two weeks. And then also just getting to the end of the two weeks, that was the most important thing and that was made quite clear to me before I started the race. The pace was good and then we had a bad day on stage 2 with our wheel disappearing down the road past us. I knew basically that the fight for a good position was over and we'd be there for the experience. And then it was sort of finding our way and trying to get up to the pace, which we did quite well some days leading the stage and then making mistakes or having mechanical issues. That stopped us from winning a few more stages. But yeah, the first stage we won was actually a ridiculous day. I don't know how many times we stopped in the stage and tried to fix the door that we broke, doing 100 kilometres with the door open and holding it closed. So that was actually ridiculous. I couldn't believe that we had won the stage. I managed to win the last stage as well, which means it obviously wasn't a fluke. I think for this year we now know we can get to the end and we know we can be quick over a single day. I think the trick is going to be trying to put a whole Dakar together and race two weeks. That's something we obviously have never done with all the mistakes that we made. This season we've only raced in South Africa. We've done a lot of testing with the car trying to get it even further along the development path. It's gone quite well. I think we've made a few steps forward. I think I'm better prepared for this Dakar than I've probably been for any race in my life. So I'm looking forward to it.”
Vehicle
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
TOYOTA GR DKR HILUX
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
- Mark TOYOTA
- Model GR DKR HILUX
- Performance tuner Toyota Gazoo Racing
- Assistance Toyota Gazoo Racing
- Class T1+: Prototype Cross-Country Cars 4x4
Ranking 2023
All news of H. Lategan
25-minute stop for Lategan
Henk Lategan has again run into misfortune on the beginning of the special. The South African, who could lay claim to a final podium position several days ago, has been at a standstill for more than twenty minutes.
Serradori is keeping up with Lategan
Mathieu Serradori, the 12th driver to start, has posted exactly the same time as Henk Lategan after 142 km, a little less than 5 minutes behind Sébastien Loeb. Behind the wheel of his buggy, the Frenchman is giving food for thought to the South African Toyota driver and also leads those driven by Nasser Al Attiyah and Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Lategan and Al Rajhi over 2 minutes back
Henk Lategan and Yazeed Al Rajhi, 32nd and 34th out of the gate this morning, were ninth and tenth fastest at km 29, respectively, 2'11" and 2'12" behind Sébastien Loeb's reference time.
Henk Lategan: "We started getting a bit of a rhythm"
Henk Lategan's fourth place in the eighth and last stage of the first week of racing solidified his grip on second place overall. The South African trails Nasser Al Attiyah by over an hour, so finishing on the podium in Dammam is his sole objective.
"It was another tricky day, very difficult navigation and, in the beginning,...
Henk Lategan: "Yet another very physical stage"
Sixth in the special, over 13 minutes behind Al Rajhi, Henk Lategan is still second overall, behind his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate.
"The car is going very well. Our top speed is not the best, but in the bumpy sections we have a good car that handles rocky terrain quite well. We had a nice duel between four or five cars near the end of the special,...
Henk Lategan: “It was still quite physical”
3rd on the day’s stage, Henk Lategan took advantage of the mishaps suffered by the Audi clan and his team-mate Yazeed Al Rajhi to climb into 2nd provisional position, a little more than one houre behind his team leader Nasser Al Attiyah.
“I think we’re more tired from yesterday and the day before. Today was not as hard as the few...
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