On the afternoon of February 1, 2013, Haval Dakar team that had competed in the 35th Dakar Rally, including the competitor Zhou Yong, returned to Beijing with excellent results. At the Beijing Capital International Airport, the team was warmly welcomed by the press and Haval fans. Despite a short duration, the pickup ceremony showed the fans' favor of the team and respect to Zhou, and many fans took group photos with the team members to freeze the very moment.

It’s said that the Dakar 2013 had recently concluded, and it’s the fourth presence of Haval Dakar team in the world's toughest race known as a "game of death". Although the organizers imposed certain restrictions on diesel vehicles through rule adjustments, the team still achieved outstanding results. The competitors Carlos Sousa and Zhou Yong both retained last year’s places (6th and 19th), but the competition environment was totally different this year. "This year's results are much more valuable than last year's, and both competitors performed well. They are all excellent players in the Rally. During the rally, the Chinese team drew extensive attention, and even David Castera, sporting director of the Dakar Rally, admitted that Zhou Yong's actual level is far above his final standing. This makes us confident of our future breakthrough and optimistic about GWM's market prospect in South America and the world," said Dong Ming, director of Haval Dakar team in an interview.

Zhou Yong introduced the one-week rest in South America after the Dakar Rally, saying that the team has made technical preparations for the upcoming domestic races this year when communicating with several most advanced technical refitting teams in Europe. "Despite a gap between domestic races and the Dakar in terms of distance, scale and difficulty, I believe my experience and sense of pace from the Dakar can be applied in the domestic races this year to make myself calmer and stronger," he said.

The Dakar Rally is always regarded by automakers as a test platform for quality, and only superb skills and professional auto sports teams can lead to good results. Haval Dakar team's practice of competing against the world renowned auto brands through a more complete infrastructure and more experienced service team is a shortcut for the development of Chinese automakers.Reportedly following the Spring Festival GWM will deliver a grand glee feast in Beijing. On the occasion, the team will share their stories in the Dakar with Haval fans.