TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa will likely be fielding three crews at the 2024 Dakar Rally, with all three drivers hailing from South Africa. All the crews will likely be powered by the identical Dakar-winning GR DKR Hilux T1+, which attained the high step of the Dakar podium in each 2022 and 2023. The automobile will likely be considerably up to date for 2024, however extra particulars on these updates will observe in the end.
Unfortunately, Henk Lategan will likely be lacking Dakar 2024 due to a shoulder damage that he sustained throughout the penultimate spherical of the South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), the place he was combating for the championship. Lategan has undergone surgical procedure on his shoulder and gained’t be totally healed in time for the upcoming Dakar Rally, which takes place early in January 2024.
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Who will take on 2024 Dakar?
The most skilled member of the new-look crew stays Giniel de Villiers, who will once more be partnered with Denis Murphy. The South African driver has one in all the greatest data in the historical past of the Dakar Rally, with 20 begins to his identify. Having solely completed exterior the Top 10 as soon as (2007); he has been in the Top 5 fifteen instances and brought general honours as soon as. He has gained 18 phases over his Dakar Rally profession, and there may be little question that the crew will rely closely on De Villiers’ expertise once more this 12 months.
For Dakar 2024, De Villiers will even have Guy Botterill as teammate. Botterill, who hails from the metropolis of Durban, is a race winner in the South African Rally-Raid Championship, and a full-time member of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa, who contests the native championship. He spent most of his racing profession in the thrilling world of rallying, the place he gained a number of South African nationwide titles earlier than shifting throughout to rally-raid racing. Dakar 2024 will likely be his first try at the occasion, however with Henk Lategan aspect lined, Botterill could have the skilled Brett Cummings doing responsibility as co-driver.
The ultimate member of the South African trio in TGR’s Dakar crew can be its youngest. Sa’ood Variawa is an 18-year-old racing sensation, who will likely be racing alongside the skilled French co-driver, Francois Cazalet. After reducing his enamel in the native Global Touring Car championship and exhibiting promising tempo in mid-season testing, Variawa is wanting to make the soar to the ‘sandy stuff’. He is the son of Shameer Variawa, who contested the Dakar Rally with TGR in 2021 and 2022, ending a reputable twentieth and fifteenth respectively.
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With a contemporary new look to its driver line-up, TGR is wanting to its future, which incorporates the continued improvement of its Dakar-winning GR DKR Hilux T1+. Details of the automobile’s up to date specs for the 2024 season will likely be shared in the end. However, the newest evolution of the automobile will conform to the new guidelines as set out by the FIA. Additionally, Toyota’s intention of constructing ever-better automobiles by means of motorsport has spurred on additional refinements to numerous elements of the automobile. At the identical time, the crew is wanting to a sustainable future, particulars of which haven’t been introduced but.
The 12-stage marathon occasion will begin on January fifth, 2024, in the northern Saudi metropolis of Alula. From there, the route will wind its method by means of the spectacular sands of Saudi Arabia, earlier than doubling again for the end at the coastal metropolis of Yanbu.
“The Dakar Rally has been close to our hearts ever since Toyota SA Motors launched the project back in 2011,” says Glenn Crompton, Vice-President: Marketing, Toyota SA Motors. “Our first participation, in 2012, was a landmark for the company, as we took on the world. We finished third in that first outing, and improved to second the following year. Since then, the Dakar Rally project has been on an incredible journey where we have continually improved the Hilux, building an ever-better car that triumphed in the world’s toughest race – first in 2019, and then again in 2022 and 2023. We are extremely proud to be part of this journey, and we are excited about showcasing our latest GR DKR Hilux T1+ in the hands of both experienced and young talent.”
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Published by Toyota South Africa on MotorPress
For extra information and updates on the 2024 Dakar, hold following our MOTORSPORT PAGE.
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