Peter Lyon
December 26, 2024
As the 2022 and 2023 winner of the grueling Dakar Rally, which is now run in Saudi Arabia (so has nothing to do with Dakar), Toyota’s Gazoo Racing team will mount arguably its strongest challenge yet.
The sixth edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia is expected to deliver one of the most challenging routes to date with competitors facing over 8,000 kilometres of treacherous terrain, including more than 5,000 kilometres of timed special stages.
Competitors will begin their journey in Bisha, a city in the south-western quadrant of the country, before navigating through a meticulously designed course that takes advantage of the region’s diverse and demanding terrains.
The rally opens with a prologue stage on January 3, allowing competitors to establish their starting order before launching into the main event.
The route features numerous highlights, including the tough 48-hour Chrono Stage that will test endurance early in the race, and the marathon stage where teams must rely solely on their own skills and resources to make it through the night without external assistance. The iconic Empty Quarter dunes return as a centrepiece of the rally’s second week, presenting participants with towering sand dunes and challenging navigation that will separate the field.
In total, the rally includes 12 stages with stage distances ranging from the demanding 134-kilometre final day to the punishing 606-kilometre Stage 6. The rest day on January 10 in Hail will offer a brief respite, but the intensity resumes immediately afterward as competitors tackle the longest timed specials and challenging dunes in the second week. The rally will conclude in Shubaytah on January 17, where a celebratory podium awaits the successful finishers.
While Toyota Gazoo Racing will officially enter two GR DKR Hilux Evo SUVs driven by Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero, some 17 other Toyota makes, including Hiluxes, Land Cruisers will participate in the event.
The Toyota contingent can expect to battle against the some of the best long distance rally cars in the world like the Mini JCW Rally, Ford Raptor and F150 Evo, Volkswagen Amarok and Century CR6. After winning the 2024 Dakar Rally with 61-year-old Carlos Sainz Sr at the wheel, Audi announced it was pulling its RS Q e-tron out of the event due to lack of spare parts.
Each of the two Toyota Gazoo factory crews will rely on the race-proven GR DKR Hilux Evo, the latest iteration of Toyota’s rally-raid platform. Building on the success of the 2024 model, the 2025 Hilux Evo features refinements to key systems and components aimed at maximising reliability, durability, and performance in the unforgiving conditions of the Dakar Rally.
These improvements align with Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence in building ever-better cars.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
With its massive entry list — including some 19 SUVs in total including Hilux and Land Cruisers plus its factory-backed twin Hilux Evos — Toyota looks set to have the best chance of picking up its third win in just four years. And with Toyota having just won the 2024 World Rally Championships, the Gazoo team’s tail is wagging.
