NEWS

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel recorded their second Dakar victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, when they won the 2022 Dakar Rally, which took place in Saudi Arabia early in January. The pair dominated the event, winning the prologue on January 1st, as well as the tough opening stage near the city of Ha’il. They also powered their Toyota Hilux to victory in Stage 4, but controlled their pace through the remainder of the event, to bring the car home safely in first place, with a winning margin of 27min 46sec.

Winning the prologue allowed Al-Attiyah/Baumel to choose their starting position for the first stage, and they selected the 10th position on the road. This gave them the optimal position from which to attack: A three-minute dust gap to the car ahead of them; but plenty of tracks to follow, making navigation easier. This paid off handsomely as many of the top crews faltered in the opening stage. The TGR crew managed to pick their way through the tricky terrain without any problems, securing the opening stage win by 12min 44sec over the BRX Hunter of Sebastien Loeb.