MOTORSPORT: Aussie's big triumph in 'mini Dakar'
Years of competing in rally-raids has finally yielded some serious glory for Peter Jerie in faraway ParaguayA veteran Australian rally-raid competitor has scored the biggest success of his career, winning a torturous event in South America – part of a “training” series for the annual Dakar Rally.
Czech-born Aussie Peter Jerie, who finished the two-week Dakar this year at his fifth attempt, won the five-day Desafio Guarani in remote Paraguay in wet and muddy conditions by almost 3½ hours.
Jerie, who previously raced Isuzus, now drives a 2.5 times more powerful Toyota Hilux prepared by German outfit South Racing with a French navigator, Laurent Lichtleuchter.
“In all my years of racing, I have not raced in so much water and mud,” Jerie said.
“The route was extremely challenging.
“The race was really difficult.”
South Racing won four of the five days of the event with its other two Hiluxes.
Paraguayan father and son Viktor and Vernon Rempel and Spanish driver Fernando Alvarez and his Argentinean navigator Luciano Genonni were victorious on two stages each.
However, the pace-setting Paraguayans damaged their engine at a river crossing near the end of the fourth day and retired as Alvarez and Genonni took the honours on the final two days.
It was Jerie and Lichtleuchter’s consistency though that delivered two-year-old South
Racing’s first international victory in 23 hours, 7 minutes and 43 seconds – 3:23.33 faster than another Paraguayan pair, Beto Recalde and Juan Sanchez Bachen, in another Toyota.
Hiluxes filled the top four spots and five of the top six.
The Desafio Guarani was the second of a three-round Dakar Series that predominantly South American competitors use as training for the Dakar Rally each January.
Desafio means challenge, while Guarani are American Indian people of Paraguay whose native tongue is the country’s national language.
The first round of the Dakar Series was in Argentina in May while the final round, the Desafio Inca in Peru, is in September.
Jerie has started the Dakar Rally five times – the first three times when it was in Europe and Africa.
He finished 42nd in the marathon event this year with a best of 26th on the ninth stage.
He has said he races more for the adventure and to marvel at nature than the sheer competition.
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