Despite the departure of Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has been one of the project’s references, Toyota reinforces its commitment to Dakar 2024 and the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). The manufacturer will present itself with five official drivers and a new GR IMT Hilux EVO T1U. However, the entire season will be contested by only two cars.
In the next month of January at Dakar, Toyota will have two rookies: Guy Botterill (navigated by Brett Cummings) and Saood Variawa (navigated by François Cazalet). Giniel de Villiers, with Dennis Murphy by his side, remains in the structure, where Lucas Moraes (Armand Monleon is the navigator) and Seth Quintero (navigated by Dennis Zenz) join. Moraes and Quintero will compete in the entire W2RC season in 2024.
The quintet will have the new GR IMT Hilux EVO T1U at their disposal. The car is 100 millimeters longer than its predecessor, with improvements particularly in the suspension and air conditioning – whose unit has been repositioned to achieve greater efficiency. There is also a new cooling package. The focus of the development was on durability and reliability. The car completed about 30,000km of competition and testing throughout the year, testing in locations such as the Kalahari Desert and the Namib Desert – which was the stage for the final preparations.
