With racing taking place in high altitudes during the Dakar rally, trusted filtration systems, such as those provided by filtration company Donaldson Filtration Solutions, are key for bakkies attempting to win the race.

Owing to this, Midrand-based racing outfit Toyota Gazoo Racing Team principal Glyn Hall notes that effective filtration played a key role in the design of the natural aspirated 5 ℓ V8 diesel Hilux bakkies, which took Giniel de Villiers, Leeroy Poulter and Yazeed Al Rajh to strong Dakar finishes of third, fifth and eleventh place respectively at the 2016 edition of the race.

“Essentially, we wanted maximum airflow through the smallest, most effective air filter possible. This goes for any type of race vehicle, especially if it functions off-road,” says Hall.

The Gazoo racing team have made use of the same Powercore range of Donaldson filtration products for the second year in a row. Owing to space constraints, the team has not used traditional cyclonic air filters, opting to use the more compact Powercore filters from Donaldson.

The filter, which is 60% smaller, compared with a cyclonic filter, allows for increased dust and soot holding capacity, which is important in a race where up to a cup of dust is removed from the filters after a day’s racing.

Hall notes that no visible degradation was found on the filters, even after prolonged stages.

“We used the Powercore series for the last two Dakar rallies and had very few issues. We rest assured knowing the quality of the filters have been tested through two Dakars,” says Hall.

The Gazoo racing team encountered a difficult race in 2016, as several stages of the race took part in rainy conditions. Despite the wet nature of the race, the air filters, which have been tested in both the local S200 rally and 4×4 championship, were able to stop water from entering the engine in the out-of-the-ordinary weather conditions.

Fuel filters, which were also supplied by Donaldson, insured that the direct injection engines were fed the cleanest fuel possible. This proved especially useful in keeping the Hilux bakkies in the race during the high- altitude stages of the race, where the natural aspirated diesel engines had less power than rival cars.

Donaldson also provided hydraulic filters used for both the steering system and the hydraulic jacks that lift the Dakar Toyota Hilux for quick tyre changes.

“It takes a dedicated team to run the cars, a talented driver and navigator to keep it all on track, and a massive network of technical partners and suppliers back home that all play a part in creating the best possible race vehicle in the first place,” Hall concludes.