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Toyota Prepares for 2014 Dakar in the Namib Desert

With less than six months left until the 2014 Dakar Rally kicks off, Toyota Motorsport South Africa took its entire crew and vehicles for a whole week of concentrated testing in the Namib Desert.
Toyota Hilux 2014 Dakar testing 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
According to team principal Glyn Hall, the team worked on setting up the chassis and suspension of the Hilux, while also working on aerodynamics, brakes, gearing, drive train and new air conditioning. The weather conditions allowed rookie driver Leeroy Poulter to handle the Hilux in the sand dunes for the first time.

"The weather conditions were perfect for the entire week enabling the team to complete over 2 000 kilometres of valuable testing in the desert," said team principal Glyn Hall. "We got through our very full programme of tasks and nearly all were completed with good results, especially the new suspension which was only finished the day before we left. A great team effort. We still have some issues to sort out, which is commonplace when you are developing new ideas.

The two Toyota Hilux trucks will be driven by Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz and Leeroy Poulter/Rob Howie at the 2014 Dakar Rally (January 5 to 18, 2014).
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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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