TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) will compete in 2024 with the updated version of its Dakar-winning vehicle, now known as the GR DKR Hilux EVO T1U, a name that reflects both the vehicle's improvements and the new W2RC categorization.
The team will participate with five vehicles in the Dakar 2024, including two new drivers, who will face the toughest automobile test in the world. It will be the largest team that TGR has entered to date in the iconic Dakar Rally, combining the unrivaled experience of drivers like Giniel de Villiers with the good pace of Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero. Additionally, the team has also confirmed that both Lucas and Seth, along with their co-drivers, will compete in the 2024 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season.
Dakar 2024 will be the first round of W2RC 2024, and as such will be a pivotal rally for the two confirmed TGR crews in W2RC: Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon, and Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz.
The team will participate with five vehicles in the Dakar 2024, including two new drivers, who will face the toughest automobile test in the world. It will be the largest team that TGR has entered to date in the iconic Dakar Rally, combining the unrivaled experience of drivers like Giniel de Villiers with the good pace of Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero. Additionally, the team has also confirmed that both Lucas and Seth, along with their co-drivers, will compete in the 2024 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season.
Dakar 2024 will be the first round of W2RC 2024, and as such will be a pivotal rally for the two confirmed TGR crews in W2RC: Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon, and Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:06 And we are here in Namibia for the last and final
00:10 preparation for Dakar.
00:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:14 So for Dakar 2024, we've made an evolution of the last
00:18 year's car.
00:19 So we've won the two previous Dakars.
00:21 So we don't want to change too much.
00:23 However, we didn't explore the full scope of the regulations
00:28 as far as the width is concerned.
00:30 We got a new car.
00:31 The car is wider than it was last year.
00:33 So obviously, the damper settings all changed.
00:36 So for this year, we've gone to the full maximum width
00:38 of 2.3 meters.
00:40 This inherently gives the car more stability.
00:43 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:46 I would be disappointed if we weren't challenging
00:48 to win the Dakar.
00:49 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:52 Yes, of course, first and foremost,
00:54 I would like to congratulate Nasser Matjouh
00:56 for providing us a second victory in the W2RC,
01:00 an amazing achievement.
01:01 But obviously, now we embark on a new journey with Dakar
01:05 2024, a journey towards Dakar 26 future,
01:09 and a journey which we embark entirely new
01:11 with a brand new team.
01:13 So we're very, very pleased to have recruited
01:16 and being able to engage with a new generation of drivers.
01:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:24 The team has grown from the previous years.
01:27 I think there were three cars in Dakar.
01:29 Now we're going to be five cars, five Gazoo cars.
01:32 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:36 I'm Gau Botrel.
01:39 We're testing for the Dakar.
01:42 It'll be my first Dakar ever.
01:44 One thing is for sure, the Dakar is the toughest race
01:47 in the world.
01:47 And there's nothing that can properly
01:50 prepare you for the Dakar.
01:51 Nothing can properly prepare you for that race.
01:55 My name's Seth Quintero.
01:56 I'm 21 years old from San Marcos, California.
01:59 I'm out here with the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in Namibia
02:01 doing some testing, having some fun.
02:03 We do have a new car that we're working on now.
02:05 So we're just kind of getting some settings figured out
02:07 and getting ready for Dakar.
02:08 Well, my name is Lucas Moraes.
02:10 I am the driver of Toyota Gazoo Racing for Dakar team.
02:15 I've done 20 now.
02:17 So next year will be number 21.
02:19 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:22 Yeah, I think we can win.
02:26 I mean, if everything goes well--
02:29 you know, in the Dakar, you always need a bit of luck.
02:32 You do need a bit of luck to be able to go
02:35 over the line in first place.
02:37 But I've done it before.
02:39 I mean, there's no reason why we can't do it.
02:43 It's possible.
02:44 Like I said, Dakar is really, really hard.
02:46 And you have to respect the race a lot.
02:50 But I think we are on a great program.
02:53 And we just need to take day by day
02:55 and see how the strategy will play.
02:57 But we definitely have the tools to do it.
03:01 And over the past 12 Dakars, we've had 11 podium positions.
03:06 So obviously, we'll be there to defend our current titles,
03:09 both in Dakar and W2SE, with the ambition
03:12 to be minimum back on the podium.
03:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:18 [AUDIO OUT]
03:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]