Toyota says it’s all set for the upcoming Dakar Rally, which will kick off the 2025 motorsport year in January when cars, trucks, and bikes take to the dunes of the Arabian desert.
Two teams, plus ‘stock’ entries
In fact, Toyota is entering with two teams, both running specially modified Hilux pickup racers, backed up by fellow teams using stock Land Cruiser 300s and a massive, race-prepped Hino truck.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is the European entry into the Dakar, and features rising off-road racing stars Lucas Moraes with co-driver Armand Monleon, and Seth Quintero with co-driver Dennis Zenz.
Both Morares and Qunitero contributed to Toyota’s class win in the 2024 World Rally Raid 2 championship, and both will be pushing hard for victory in the Dakar this coming year, as well as hoping to take two titles for Toyota in a row.
350mm of suspension travel
The GR DKR Hilux Evo racer use they’ll be driving uses a twin-turbo engine with 358hp and a massive 620Nm of torque, driving all four wheels (of course) through a six-speed sequential transmission. The Hilux Evo gets three differentials and a massive suspension, which has 350mm of travel and is designed to be tough enough to take endless jumping over dunes.
The tyres come from off-road specialist BF Goodrich, while the renewable racing fuel is supplied by Toyota’s partner for the Dakar, Spanish fuels giant Repsol.
As well as the European Gazoo Racing team, there’s also a Toyota squad being entered by Toyota South Africa, which will field a four-car team, including Giniel de Villiers partnered with Dirk von Zitzewitz, Henk Lategan with co-driver Brett Cummings, Guy Botterill with co-driver Dennis Murphy, and Saood Variawa with co-driver Francois Cazalet.
The challenges of the Dakar
Andrea Carlucci, Gazoo Racing Team Principal, said: “The 2025 Dakar Rally represents Toyota Gazoo Racing’s commitment to excellence and innovation. With Repsol joining us as a key partner, we are taking significant strides towards a sustainable future. Our team this year is a blend of youth and experience, which we believe is essential for tackling the challenges of Dakar. The GR DKR Hilux Evo has been meticulously refined, and I’m confident that we are fielding one of the strongest line-ups in this year’s event.”
Alongside the two front-line racing teams, Toyota will also be fielding entries in the stock class (that’s to say, showroom-standard) for Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body, using the Land Cruiser 300 (that’s the big, luxury Land Cruiser which isn’t sold in Ireland), and there will be a Hino Team Sugawara, competing in the truck category with a racer based on the Hino 600 Series (Toyota, of course, owns the Hino truck company).
Set your alarm clocks early for the new year - the Dakar kicks off the first of its 14 punishing stages on the 3rd of January 2025.