Photo: Toyota
Not to be confused with the GR Sport, the Hilux before you is a Dakar Rally build with fewer series-production parts than you’d think. Marc Coma and Fernando Alonso are currently testing the Toyota Gazoo Racing race truck in preparation for the grueling competition in Saudi Arabia.
“Wait, where?” Your reaction is justified, dearest reader, because next year will see the Dakar Rally switch from Latin America to the largest sovereign state in the Middle East. The official title of the competition is, therefoalre, Saudi Dakar 2020, running from January 5th to January 17th.
The route of the Arabian rally raid starts in Jeddah, the second-largest city in the kingdom, located on the west coast. The story will come to a conclusion after 12 stages and more than 9,000 kilometers in Al-Qiddya, and January 11th is planned as a rest day for every competitor in Riyadh.
Organizers of the #Dakar2020 have signed with Saudi Arabia as the host of the rally raid for five years, but the terms of the contract don’t exclude other countries from joining as partners. All things considered, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt are the most suitable candidates.
“Marc and I are getting along very well and we are working effectively as a unit. I’m looking forward to training in a competitive environment for the first time which will be very different from our private tests,” said Alonso. Veteran rider Coma said about his teammate that “he is also adapting really well to driving the Hilux and we are seeing improvements run after run.”
So far, Alonso tested the Hilux rally truck in Namibia and Poland. From September 13th to 14th, he and Coma have competed in the Lichtenburg 400. The fifth round of the South African Cross Country Series saw Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy of Toyota Gazoo Racing win the arduous event.
The 2019 Hilux race truck that won the Dakar Rally in Latin America is powered by a naturally aspirated V8. The 5.0-liter engine is tuned to develop 385 horsepower and 620 Nm (457 pound-feet).
The route of the Arabian rally raid starts in Jeddah, the second-largest city in the kingdom, located on the west coast. The story will come to a conclusion after 12 stages and more than 9,000 kilometers in Al-Qiddya, and January 11th is planned as a rest day for every competitor in Riyadh.
Organizers of the #Dakar2020 have signed with Saudi Arabia as the host of the rally raid for five years, but the terms of the contract don’t exclude other countries from joining as partners. All things considered, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt are the most suitable candidates.
“Marc and I are getting along very well and we are working effectively as a unit. I’m looking forward to training in a competitive environment for the first time which will be very different from our private tests,” said Alonso. Veteran rider Coma said about his teammate that “he is also adapting really well to driving the Hilux and we are seeing improvements run after run.”
So far, Alonso tested the Hilux rally truck in Namibia and Poland. From September 13th to 14th, he and Coma have competed in the Lichtenburg 400. The fifth round of the South African Cross Country Series saw Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy of Toyota Gazoo Racing win the arduous event.
The 2019 Hilux race truck that won the Dakar Rally in Latin America is powered by a naturally aspirated V8. The 5.0-liter engine is tuned to develop 385 horsepower and 620 Nm (457 pound-feet).
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