Dakar shows teeth to Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa on stage 2

Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa experienced mixed fortunes on the second stage of the 2026 Dakar after an initial promising start.

Mixed day

Having clocked the sixth fastest time on the first stage to be the best placed of the three-car GR Hilux IMT Evo entries, the 400 km from Yanbu to Alula ended in disappointment for Guy Botterill and Spanish co-driver Oriol Mena.

After stopping for a second puncture in as many days, the #218 Hilux lost further time with a malfunctioning hydraulic on-board jack and a loss of power steering for the last 200 km.

An eventual loss of 30 minutes saw the pair slip back to 25^th place overall, 32’ 46 minutes behind the leader.

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“The body took a beating, but I can’t believe we only lost around 30 minutes. Oriol was as always very good on the notes, and considering everything, I think we did a great job.”

Having started 14^th, the #240 Hilux of Portuguese pair João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro finished highest of the Gazoo Racing South Africa Hiluxes in fifth, helping them move to sixth in the overall standings.

“We started with a lot of stones and had a slow puncture, but after the pit stop it was very fast and sandy with a lot of navigation,” Ferreira said.

“We pushed there and finished P5 for the day. It’s a very positive result, but it’s still only the second day of Dakar, so we stay focused on the next stage”.

After 13^th on stage 1, Saood Variawa and French navigator Francois Cazalet in the #213 Hilux ended 10^th after a front running run throughout much of the stage came to a halt with a puncture near the end.

“We were leading for most of the stage up until the last 100 kilometres. We then had a puncture and sat in dust for a bit, but the pace was really good,” Variawa said.

“We managed to pass several cars and the car was amazing throughout. We’re happy with where we are and we have a good starting position for tomorrow”.

Hilux lock out

Having started the event quietly, the second stage resulted in a 1-2 finish for the works Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC team, with victory for the American pairing of Seth Quintero and Andrew Short, and second for South Africa’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings – a result which saw them leap from 17th to fourth overall.

As a result of Ferreira and Palmeiro’s fifth place, Hiluxes also occupied the top five on the stage, with reigning champions Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk finishing third and Toby Price and Armand Monleon fourth.

After a poor stage for former leaders Guillaume de Mévius/Mathieu Baumel, which saw them drop to third, former multiples winners Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Larquin now lead from Quintero and Short.

Overall standings

1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Fabian Larquin       Dacia 07h 12′ 16”
2. Seth Quintero/Andrew Short                Toyota 07h 12′ 23”
3. Guillaume de Mévius/Mathieu Baumel       Mini          07h 13′ 25′
4. Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings                 Toyota        07h 13′ 44”
5. Sébastien Loeb/Edouard Boulanger           Dacia         07h 14′ 13”
6. João Ferreira/Filipe Palmeiro               Toyota       07h 14′ 17”
7. Toby Price/Armand Monleon               Toyota        07h 14′ 58”
8. Mattias Ekstrom/Emil Bergkvist                   Ford          07h 16′ 20”
9. Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet                Toyota        07h 16′ 50”
10. Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz                               Ford         07h 18′ 51”

Stage 3

Described as the toughest so far, stage 3 involves yet another loop stage around of Alula of 422 km, but with no allowed servicing during in conditions billed as fast and sandy with a few rocky sections thrown in.

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