Toyota Hilux Dakar contenders revealed

Toyota GAZOO Racing South Africa has revealed its new contenders for the 40th running of the Dakar rally, held next year in South America.

Beginning January 6th, contenders will begin the journey from Lima, Peru, to Cordoba, Argentina via Bolivia.

In three Toyota Hilux Dakar utes, driver and co-drivers will travel 14 stages totalling 5000km, plus another 4000km of travel between stages.

In 2018, the Hiluxes will be lighter than those of this year, and its naturally aspirated V8 engine is now mid-mounted. The 2018 restrictions also allow for a larger 38mm air restrictor.

Already the Gazoo Dakar Hilux has undergone 3000km of testing in South Africa, more than half the mileage it will cover in the rally.

Team principal Glyn Hall says more power and a lighter vehicle will help it combat the soft surfaces in the rally’s opening stages.

"We decided to radically alter the layout and geometry of the car, incorporating everything we've learned over the past five years," Hall says.

"You can never be over confident in a race as tough as the Dakar, but at the same time we feel we're onto a winning recipe here.

“If the rule changes better balance the performance of the petrol-powered cars and the turbo-diesels, I have every reason to believe we're in with a shot."

Lead driver Giniel de Villiers added that the car "feels extremely fast and well balanced, and I'm looking forward to taking it on Dakar 2018."

545 entrants are listed to compete across five categories – Bike, Quad, Car, Side-by-side, and Truck.

The rally kicks off on January 6th.