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26 June 2022
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is witnessing the all-conquering might of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Dakar Hilux T1+ in a no-holds-barred demonstration of power and car control this weekend.
This first-time Goodwood appearance for both the machine and its pilots – the multi-title-winning duo of driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel – is leaving no one in doubt about the qualities that made them the class of the field in this year’s Dakar Rally.
With lights blazing, tyres smoking and engine roaring, the high-powered pick-up has taken everything the festival has to offer in its stride. At certain times over the weekend it is following up its high-speed ascent of the hillclimb course with an immediate run through the Goodwood rally special stage. This gives just a hint of the GR Dakar Hilux’s ability to take all terrains in its stride.
Four-time Dakar winner Al Attiyah is relishing the opportunity to experience the festival and entertain the crowds. He said: “Of course the festival is a very different environment from what we’re used to dealing with, but the crowds are amazing and it has been a very special experience for both me and Mathieu to give them just a taste of what the Dakar Hilux can do.”
The Toyota Gazoo Racing DKR Hilux T1+ stormed to victory on its first appearance on the Dakar Rally in January and is now competing in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). It’s based on the best-selling Hilux pick-up, but with changes to meet the demands of off-road competition. The engine is a mid-mounted 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, driving all four wheels, a unit that is also used with the Toyota’s new Land Cruiser 300 road-going model. For the race car it delivers 400bhp/298kW and around 600Nm of torque, performance that is in line with sporting regulations. Larger wheels and tyres (37-inch) are fitted and the suspension has greater travel to cope with covering rough terrain at high speed.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing presence at the festival is further enriched by Toyota’s road-going GR sports cars. GR Yaris and the newly launched GR86 coupe are joined by the new version of the GR Supra coupe with manual transmission, creating a “power of three” line-up and reinforcing Toyota’s status as a manufacturer of sports cars for purists.
Adding to the mix is a rallying version of GR Yaris that’s competing in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Iberian Cup, a new eight-round, one-make rally series that’s taking place across Spain and Portugal. Its launch this year is another example of how Toyota Gazoo Racing is also supporting grass-roots motor sport activities around the world.
