Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver, Mathieu Baumel, successfully defended the Dakar title they won for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) in 2022 when they brought their GR DKR Hilux T1+ over the finish line of the final stage of Dakar 2023 with a winning margin of 1 hour 20 minutes 49 seconds.
Although they had lost almost 6 minutes to the final stage leaders, they had already built up a comfortable lead from stage 3 to be able to take overall victory. For Nasser, it’s a fifth win in the event, while Mathieu’s tally is now 4 victories. The pair have won 3 times for Toyota, with the latest victories coming in a back-to-back. Nasser’s two earliest wins were win Volkswagen (2011) and MINI (2015)
With three weeks remaining until the start of the 2023 Dakar Rally, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) is making preparations for its 3-vehicle team’s entry in the first round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) 2023 season. The team will have reigning masters, Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel, with newly crowned South African Rally-Raid Champion Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dennis Murphy, as well as Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings.
The 2023 W2RC starts with the Dakar Rally in January, and will be followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge at the end of February; the Sonora Rally in Mexico during April, and the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina at the end of August. The season will draw to a close with the Rally of Morocco, again scheduled for mid-October. Al-Attiyah and Baumel will compete in all the rounds.
The Extreme E series, which is the off-road version of Formula E, will enter its second season this year after an exciting inaugural season in 2021. Although 3 of the original venues on the calendar could not be used due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers still managed to finish the season with 5 rounds in different parts of the world.
This year, there will again be 5 rounds with 7 teams taking part; last year, 9 teams took part. Each team has to have one male and one female, with both taking turns to drive on the competitive stages.
Abt CUPRA Tavascan XE all-electric rallycar in action during the 2021 Extreme E series.
Two Dakar Rally veterans
The Abt CUPRA XE team, which finished 5th overall last year, is among the entrants and its drivers will be Nasser Al-Attiyah and Jutta Kleinschmidt. Both drivers are veterans in off-road events, with Qatari Al-Attiyah having won the Dakar Rally 4 times, his most recent win being this year’s event. German driver Kleinschmidt, who drove for the team in 4 rounds last year, is also a Dakar Rally (2001) winner and is still the only woman to win the world’s toughest rally.
Updated rallycar
The duo will use the new CUPRA Tavascan XE which was shown in concept form about 5 months ago. It is an updated version of the 2021 rallycar and is powered by a 54 kWh battery pack, placed behind the cockpit which contributes to an optimal vehicle weight distribution. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in around 4 seconds.
The CUPRA Tavascan XE is more sustainable and environmentally-focussed than before. It comes equipped with 3D-printed parts to improve adaptability and make repairing the vehicle far easier and quicker, a crucial consideration when the event venues are in remote areas.
While the bodywork of the all-electric racing vehicle hints at the design language that will be seen on the future series production CUPRA Tavascan, the platform is similar to that used by other teams. Known as ODYSSEY 21, it has a common package of standardised parts and is manufactured by Spark Racing Technology. This encompasses a niobium-reinforced steel alloy tubular frame, as well as crash structure and roll cage, whilst the tyres are designed especially for the extreme conditions by Continental Tyres, a founding partner of the series.
“I’m very excited,” said Al-Attiyah, 51, who has won over 60 rallies and 13 titles. “I believe this is going to be a massive experience for me as the Extreme E Championship is a step forward towards a better future. I’m proud to have joined the CUPRA tribe for this adventure, and I know we can do a great job. The team’s background, combined with the experience of Jutta and me, can consolidate all the great work so far. We are really determined, and the goal is to win. I can’t wait to be sat in the car and start having fun. Let’s make the most of this opportunity!”
First round in Saudi Arabia again
The first round of the 2022 Extreme E series will be on February 19 and 20 in Neom, Saudi Arabia, which should be familiar territory to Al-Attiyah and Kleinschmidt. His closest rival in the desert would be Sebastian Loeb, who has won the World Rally Championship 9 times and is familiar with the Dakar Rally. Loeb’s team mate in the X44 Team, Cristina Gutierrez, has also participated in the Dakar Rally and Extreme E last year. Another veteran off-road driver with experience in Saudi Arabia is Carlos Sainz, who will be in the Acciona | Sainz XE team.
A ship is used to transport the vehicles and equipment to each location, reducing the carbon footprint of the Extreme E series.
At each venue, the participants learn about the environmental issues that need to be addressed and help to create awareness. Researchers also accompany the organisers to conduct studies and collect information, with a Science Laboratory on board the ship for them to use.
The other side of Extreme E
As in the first season, transportation of the vehicles and other equipment to each location is by ship. This is to minimise the carbon footprint Extreme E and though slower, travel by sea is a less carbon-intensive equivalent compared to using aircraft. The ship, called the St. Helena, has been re-engineered to be more efficient and includes a Science Laboratory for use by the researchers who follow the series and conduct environmental studies at each location.
Apart from providing the excitement of motor racing, Extreme E will also be used to raise awareness of environmental and climatic challenges that the world faces, particularly looking at the ecosystems selected for the races. In the case of Saudi Arabia, where the first round will be held, focus will be on the desertification there which epitomises the challenges of the global climate crisis and the importance of regreening and encouraging resilient ecosystems.
Ever since the Dakar Rally moved to Saudi Arabia from South America in 2020, Nasser Al-Attiyah has been trying harder to win the event as it is now held in the Arab world. He came very close to doing so in 2020 and 2021 and this year, again driving for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, he finally captured the crown. The victory would also be a fitting welcome for the new President of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem from the United Arab Emirates, a former top rally driver.
This is the Qatari driver’s second victory for the team, having previously won the event in 2019. It is the fourth Dakar win for the ‘Prince of the Desert’, as the rally community has nicknamed him, the others being in 2011, 2015 and 2019. In the two earlier events, he was driving a Volkswagen and a MINI. Besides being a skilled rally driver, Al-Attiyah, 51, has also represented his country in clay pigeon shooting in the Olympics.
The result makes Al-Attiyah the second-most successful driver in the history of the event’s cars category, tied with Finland’s Ari Vatanen and only behind Stephane Peterhansel’s tally of 8 wins.
The vehicle they drove was the new GR DKR Hilux T1+ which conforms to the updated regulations for the T1 category. It features larger wheels and tyres, more wheel travel, and the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine that also powers the new Land Cruiser 300 GR Sport. The truck shares components with the race-proven Hilux that was first introduced in 2018, and won the race in 2019.
For Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel, the final stage presented few real problems, despite challenging navigation. The pair had taken the lead in the rally during the opening stage of the event and were never in danger of relinquishing that position. They won the prologue for the 2022 edition of the rally on January 1, and powered to two more stage wins on their way to overall victory.
Their closest rival and runner-up were the pair of Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin of the ProDrive/Bahrain Raid Xtreme team which finished 27 minutes 46 seconds behind. However, the 9-time WRC champion from France lost 50 minutes in the early part of the rally with a broken driveshaft. Loeb did manage to bring the gap down to under 30 minutes by the end of the penultimate stage – before a penalty for speeding undid part of his good work.
Saudi Arabians were delighted to see their countryman also on the podium as Yazeed Al-Rajhi (below) with Michael Orr of the Overdrive Toyota team finished third. They had pushed their Toyota Hilux hard but were realistic enough to aim for second and lost out to Loeb by about 34 minutes.
A 16-time Dakar Rally participant, Orlando Terranova finished an impressive 4th to give the ProDrive/Bahrain Raid Xtreme team a finish among the Top 5 in the category. For South Africans Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dennis Murphy, there were many highs and lows as the fought their way to 5th place, giving TOYOTA GAZOO Racing two placings in the Top 5 finishers.
All three electrically-powered Audi RS Q e-tron rallycars completed the event.
For the Audi Sport team, no stranger to off-road events, the Dakar Rally saw the most complex racing car in the brand’s history taking part. All three electrically-powered RS Q e-tron rallycars completed the event to usher in a new era in off-road rallying. The best-placed crew was Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist who finished ninth, with team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and Stephane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger finishing 12th and 57th, respectively.In the big trucks category, the Russian truckers have always been favourites. They have collected 18 victories with 6 different drivers since the 21st century began. Each of the 4 men at the wheels of the blue trucks has claimed at least one stage, leaving nothing for the competition. Reigning champion Dmitry Sotnikov defended his title and led the Kamaz team to a 1-2-3-4 finish.
For the Audi Sport team, no stranger to off-road events, the Dakar Rally saw the most complex racing car in the brand’s history taking part. All three electrically-powered RS Q e-tron rallycars completed the event to usher in a new era in off-road rallying. The best-placed crew was Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist who finished ninth, with team mates Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and Stephane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger finishing 12th and 57th, respectively.
Unlike the World Rally Championship events, the Dakar Rally requires navigation and a number of competitors had difficulties in some stages, losing a lot of time. Mechanical problems were, of course, to be expected in the world’s toughest cross-country race that had around 4,261 kms of competitive stages this year.
Dakar 2022 was the 44th edition of the iconic event, which first took place in January 1978. Until 2007, the event ran from Paris to Dakar on the western side of Africa. But with terrorists causing security issues, the 2008 event had to be cancelled and from 2009, it was run on the western side of South America, while retaining the original name.
The participants, mostly based across the Atlantic, were unhappy with the long distance from Europe and resulting high costs of logistics. This led to the event being moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020.
The 2022 event also had a suspected terrorist attack when, 2 days before the start, a support vehicle belonging to one of the teams had a blast through its floor near a hotel in Jeddah. One of the participants in the event, Frenchman Philippe Boutron, was seriously injured as he was in the vehicle. French security services said they would investigate the incident and at one point, it appeared that the event might be cancelled but the organisers did not stop it.
Racing provides a good demonstration of the performance and durability of vehicles, and many manufacturers participate in various motorsport competitions for that purpose. Additionally, the participation also serves as a testing ground as the conditions are extreme, whether they are on a racing circuit or off-road in the desert.
Toyota has long been involved in motorsports and its official team – TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) – has been active in the top-level events like the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and World Rally Championship (WRC). In recent years, TGR has also given attention to the Dakar Rally, considered the toughest in the world. To date, it has scored one overall victory in the event which goes back to 1979. That was in 2019 when the route was run in South America after the original west African route was unsafe due to the presence of terrorists.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has been doing well this year in the World Endurance Championship as well as the World Rally Championship and will aim to add a second victory in the Dakar Rally to its list.
For the 2022, TGR will be trying hard again and aim to score a milestone victory in the Dakar Rally to complement the victories in the WEC and WRC. It is preparing a 4-crew team for the event which will take place in Saudi Arabia from January 2nd, 2022. Building on the experience from this year’s and last year’s events where the team’s best result was second place, TGR will continue to field a mix of experienced specialists.
As in 2021, the works team will be spearheaded by Nasser Al-Attiyah (the winner in 2019) and navigator Mathieu Baumel. Giniel de Villiers will be partnered with navigator Dennis Murphy; Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings will return for their second Dakar; and Shameer Variawa will now be partnered with navigator Danie Stassen.
The team will also be fielding an all-new Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+, which conforms to the updated regulations for the T1 category. The prototype car, in temporary raw carbonfibre finish, is currently undergoing testing and will be shown to the public later in 2021.
The Hilux used in 2021 (left) with the new version on the right which is now being developed for the 2022 event.
Qatari Nasser and Frenchman Mathieu have won in the Andalucia Rally as well as the Baja Spain Aragon. The pair, who won the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies on 3 consecutive times, will be aiming to add a fourth Dakar victory to their resume in 2022.
Giniel and Dennis, both from South Africa, have competed successfully in the South African Cross-Country Series (SACCS), which also serves as a testbed for the continued development of the Toyota Dakar Hilux. They were in the lead of the title chase after 3 of the seven rounds that make up the series.
With a crash on Stage 5 of Dakar 2021 forcing South Africans Henk and Brett to retire after posting highly competitive times on Stages 3 and 4, they will be keen to show their pace, and mix it up with the more experienced crews ahead of them. Henk’s Dakar debut drew global attention, and the young driver from Johannesburg, who has won the SACCS crown multiple times, will be looking to build significantly on that experience.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won the event in 2019 when it was run in South America.
Following TGR’s philosophy of ‘making ever-better cars’, the team has continued to refine the Hilux and the latest version will be used for the 2022 event. This version of the Dakar Hilux has been developed based on the latest rules. It will share components with the race-proven Hilux that was first introduced in 2018, and won the race in 2019, but will feature a host of improvements including bigger running gear – tyres of 37 inches, up from 32 inches; together with a tread increase from 245 mm to 320 mm. The new truck also has more suspension travel with the previous limit of 280 mm now increased to 350 mm.
Under the bonnet will be a powerful 3.5 litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine, also found in the latest Land Cruiser 300. In standard form, the engine produces 415 ps at 5,200 rpm and 650 Nm of torque from 2,000 rpm but the more developed engine for the Dakar truck will certainly be significantly higher.
The Dakar 2022 route in the Saudi Arabian desert will follow a clockwise route this time. The race will start on January 2nd in the northern city of Ha’il and then head southward to the Empty Quarter. The rest day will be in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on January 8th before the race heads south-westward to the finish in the city of Jeddah on January 14th. The traditional Marathon Stage will see the crews race away from the main bivouac to an unsupported encampment for an overnight stop, before racing back to rejoin their technical crews at the main bivouac. This is a challenging part of the race, that often plays a major role in its outcome.
