Toyota wins Dakar with two South African teams in top 5

Toyota’s Gazoo Racing (TGR) has won the challenging Dakar championship for the second consecutive year, completing the 14 grueling stages in a total time of 45 hours, three minutes, and 15 seconds – one minute and 36 seconds quicker than the runner-up.

In fact, TGR scored the first, fourth, and fifth overall standings for Dakar 2023, with both fourth and fifth being South African teams.

First, however, was attained by Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah earning him his fifth Dakar trophy, driving alongside Frenchman Mathieu Bahumel who now has a tally of four Dakar victories.

“The pair has won three times for Toyota, with the latest victories coming in a back-to-back display of quality, durability, and reliability for the Japanese manufacturer,” said Toyota. “The pair took over the lead of the event on Stage 2, and never relinquished that position.”

Each TGR team competed in a specially-made Gazoo Racing DKR Hilux T1+ which debuted in 2022. A privately-entered Hilux T1+ also took part for Overdrive Racing and finished third overall, resulting in four out of the top five vehicles being a GR Hilux.

Dakar leaderboard

The Dakar 2023 championship kicked off on 31 December 2022 on a Sea Camp on the shores of the Red Sea and ended on 15 January 2023 in Dammam on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Including a prologue and 14 individual stages, the race packed nearly 5,000km of treacherous roads designed to test both the driver and the vehicle’s endurance to the breaking point.

“The Dakar is always full of challenges, and we certainly had our share of challenges this year. Of course, it could’ve been better for us, but then many competitors can probably say the same,” said TGR’s Giniel de Villiers.

“It would have been nice to be on the podium, but overall, as a manufacturer, Toyota has every reason to be proud.”

At the end of the championship, the leaderboard standings for the 2023 Dakar were as follows: