Toyota launching four car Hilux assault on Dakar 2021

A four-car Toyota Gazoo Racing team will be lining-up on the starting grid of the 2021 Dakar Rally in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 3 January.

The second event to be held in the kingdom will also be the first for the new shape Hilux that will be crewed by three-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel, South Africa’s 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers with Alex Haro beside him, rookie Henk Lategan navigated by Brett Cummings and Shameer Variawa co-driven by the experienced Dennis Murphy.

Modelled on the recently updated Hilux, the made-in South Africa Dakar version continues to be based on the model that debuted in 2018, albeit with a series of revisions applied over the last two years. For 2021, these include a reworked suspension and a more refined Lexus-sourced normally aspirated V8 engine.

“We are very excited about the 2021 edition of the Dakar Rally, especially given the circumstances with the Covid-19 pandemic, which has reigned in a lot of motorsport during the course of this year. As things stand, the race is set to go ahead early in the New Year, and we are overjoyed to be entering four proudly South African-built and developed Toyota Hilux in the race,” Team Principal Glyn Hall, whose Hallspeed organisation builds the Hiluxes, said.

In addition to the new machinery, the 2021 event will also see the adopting of a new digital roadbook trailed during this year’s event, which is set to become the norm from now on. The event will conclude on 15 January in Jeddah with the rest day set for 9 January in the city of Ha’il.

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