Toyota fields two top teams in the Dakar
THE biggest, and some say the best, off-road motorsport event in the world starts on January 2.
The Dakar rally is arguably the toughest event and is renowned for interest generated globally.
To win the event is the dream of competitors and their sponsors.
Toyota Gazoo Racing SA has announced a two-car line-up for the iconic race, which takes place during the first two weeks of next year.
The team now features two former Dakar winners in Giniel de Villiers, partnered with Dirk von Zitzewitz, and Nasser Al Attiyah, with Matthieu Baumel beside him.
De Villiers-Von Zitzewitz have campaigned in the Toyota Hilux in the Dakar since 2012, achieving podium finishes in all but one attempt.
They have proven themselves highly accomplished and experienced campaigners, having won the event together in 2009.
Furthermore De Villiers has one of the highest start-to-podium ratios in the history of the Dakar and has missed out on a top 10 finish only once since he first tackled the race in 2003.
Al Attiyah and Baumel may be new to the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team, but they’re no strangers to the Toyota Hilux.
The pair fielded a South African-built Toyota Hilux in this year’s FIA Cross-Country World Cup, winning each round entered and taking the championship in the process.
They also won the gruelling Rally of Morocco in October, proving they’re a crew to be reckoned with and that the Toyota Hilux is capable of performing well on any stage.
Also new for next year is a partnership with Red Bull. The brand already supports De Villiers and Al Attiyah, and a tie-up for the 2017 Dakar seemed a natural fit.
The crews will tackle Dakar 2017 with the proven four-wheel-drive version of the Toyota Hilux. This is the same version of the car that brought Al Attiyah-Baumel glory in the FIA’s World Cup, though numerous developments and performance advances will ensure it is capable of performing at the very highest levels.
“We were all very excited about the arrival of the Toyota Hilux Evo, which we unveiled earlier this year,” Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team principal Glyn Hall said.
“However, despite the promising performance of the car, we’ve found significantly more performance in the four-wheel-drive during parallel testing.
“This, together with Nasser and Matthieu’s victories abroad, have made it clear to us that the four-wheel-drive is more than capable of taking on the very best cars and drivers in the world.”
The four-wheel-drive Toyota Hilux has also proven to be an extremely reliable race vehicle in the past and with a bigger air restrictor – due to the average altitude of Dakar 2017 being above 2 000m – the car is sure to perform well.
“Giniel and Dirk have consistently performed well on the Dakar, and Nasser and Matthieu have just won the FIA’s World Cup – and that’s in addition to winning the Dakar in 2011 and 2015. So we have the best of the best, driving our proven fourwheel-drive Toyota Hilux for Dakar 2017.”
Unfortunately, South African cross-country champion Leeroy Poulter, who finished fifth at Dakar 2016, won’t be racing.
The newly crowned South African cross-country and rally champion had to undergo surgery recently and while he has been given a clean bill of health, he is still recovering.