- Victory for Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk
- Second place for TGR's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings
- Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon win final stage
The 2025 Dakar Rally brought not only victory for Toyota, but also a second place overall for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings #211. The works GR Hilux EVO crew led the race overall for 9 stages, but eventually lost out to Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk in their Toyota Hilux by just 3min 57sec after two weeks of racing across the Saudi Arabian landscape.

For Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi, it was a dream come true to win the Dakar Rally on home soil, and the man from Riyadh now also leads the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) standings, as the Dakar Rally is Round 1 of this championship. With the Dakar Rally done and dusted, Al Rajhi is on 70 points in the W2RC, with his nearest rival, Henk Lategan, on 55 points. Toyota leads the W2RC manufacturer standings after the opening round, with 34 points buffer to the team in second place.
Lategan/Cummings made no secret of their title aspirations when they won the Prologue for the Dakar Rally back in Bisha, before taking the overall lead of the event on Stage 2. They held onto the lead for eight straight stages, before briefly relinquishing it to Al Rajhi for one stage. The South African duo regained the lead on the next stage, but this put them at a disadvantage in terms of road position for the penultimate and deciding stage. In the end, they settled for second place, giving Toyota a coveted 1-2 finish at the world's toughest rally-raid event.
Californian Seth Quintero and his German co-driver Dennis Zenz (#204) were the next-fastest TGR crew on today's stage. The pair drove a steady race and overcame various challenges to bring their GR Hilux EVO home in 9th place, just 2h 20min 4sec behind the winners. Were it not for a tyre disaster in Stage 4, the young American may well have finished much higher up the order. Still, he leaves the Dakar Rally with a Top 10 finish, two stage wins, as well as 28 points towards the W2RC.
Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon (#203) started their Dakar 2025 campaign in fine form, pushing for the lead in the early stages of the rally. However, a technical problem with one of the dampers on their car cost the pair significant time during Stage 6 and they were on the back foot from that point forward. A time penalty dropped them down the order and out of contention, but the Brazilian driver and his Spanish co-driver continued to fight for stage wins.
Their tenacity was rewarded when they not only bounced back to win Stage 7 of the rally, but repeated the feat on the closing stage of the event. With two stage wins to their credit, they are on 18 points in the W2RC standings, and recorded a 15th place overall at the Dakar Rally.
The final finisher for TGR was young South African, Saood Variawa, and his French co-driver Francois Cazalet. Variawa became the youngest stage winner in the Ultimate Class when he won Stage 3 of the event, but a collision in Stage 2, as well as a technical issue later in the event, cost him dearly. He was classified in 29th place, 9h 29min 56sec behind the leaders. Even so, he garnered 13 points towards his W2RC campaign, and will be looking to improve on this at Round 2 of the championship.
Two TGR crews were unable to complete the 2025 Dakar Rally. The first to retire was the veteran duo of Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz, who had to stop racing after Stage 6, when Von Zitzewitz developed extreme neck pain min-stage. He was medically examined after the stage, and deemed unfit to continue, bringing a first Dakar retirement for De Villiers in a career that spanned 22 starts.
The second retirement was that of Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy, who had driven steady race up until Stage 9. They had lost several hours earlier in the race due to a damper problem, but suffered a crash in Stage 9 which put an end to their rally.
Overall, Toyota won all but four stages of the 12-stage event, as well as the Prologue in Bisha. Toyota also occupied four spots in the overall Top 10 at the finish, including first and second place. This was a power performance by the brand, underscoring the quality, durability and reliability for which the Toyota Hilux is famous. The team will continue to improve on the car, however, as part of Toyota's ethos of creating ever-better cars not only for motorsport, but also for its customers.


QUOTES:
Henk Lategan:
“It was a bittersweet race for us, to come all of this way, do two weeks of racing over thousands of kilometres, late nights, early mornings.. And then to miss out by four minutes! But to get onto the podium is fantastic. It's our first podium and it's a great achievement. It's amazing what the team's done and and what we could manage with this race. I'm proud of what we did. We'll keep trying, we'll keep pushing this year, we'll improve the car, we'll improve ourselves, we'll gain more experience, and we'll come back stronger next year.”
Seth Quintero:
“I finally feel like I belong, which is the nice thing. After a year of winning here and there, but not being too consistent, to have this one super consistent race is fantastic. Some things that were out of the team's hands and out of my hands cost us. The whole Toyota team did an amazing job the entire two weeks. I mean, we put in a lot of work the past couple of months, and it paid off for sure. Repsol joined the team this year and it was massive for us. I mean, renewable fuel is the way of the future, and it's going to allow us to keep racing forever.”
Lucas Moraes:
“Yeah, I mean, what can you say? We live and learn, we never lose, we always learn. That's what we always said. And of course, the overall result was not the one we wanted. But just happy to finish, especially with the stage win. We won the last stage when everybody was pushing. So, it proves that we have the speed. It proves how good the car still is. And I hope we can come stronger next year.”
Saood Variawa:
“Yeah, it's amazing. If I look back, last year was obviously the first year for us. This year was a lot tougher and I think the first week they [the organisers] wanted to break us. But the car was amazing. I'm really happy to finish my second Dakar on my second attempt.”
Andrea Carlucci, TGR Team Principal:
“I think it was a wonderful race, first of all, probably the best ever Dakar I've seen since we are here in Saudi. Of course, for Toyota it's just an amazing result, P1, P2, many podiums, many first, second, third positions. The car proves to be the winner in a way. A lot of honour, I would also say, to the contenders. They made it very good; it was a race until the very end, I think it was exciting. This is the spirit of motorsports. We couldn't ask for more than this.”
Dakar Rally 2025 - Stage 12 Results
1 | #203 | L. Moraes / A. Monleon | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 54min 14sec |
2 | #200 | N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger | The Dacia Sandriders | +01:33 |
3 | #211 | H. Lategan / B. Cummings | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +02:11 |
4 | #226 | M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist | Ford M-Sport | +02:12 |
5 | #242 | D. Schröder / H. Köhne | PS Laser Racing | +03:01 |
6 | #310 | P. Spierings / J. van der Stelt | Team Rebellion & Spierings | +03:10 |
7 | #300 | Y. Seaidan / M. Metge | Team BBR | +03:24 |
8 | #216 | J. Yacopini / D. Oliveras | Overdrive Racing | +03:59 |
9 | #227 | N. Roma / A. Haro | Ford M-Sport | +04:01 |
10 | #222 | G. de Mevius / M. Baumel | X-Raid Mini JCW Team | +04:06 |
15 | #204 | S. Quintero / D. Zenz | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +04:42 |
16 | #218 | S. Variawa / F. Cazalet | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +04:43 |
Dakar Rally 2025 - Final Standings
1 | #201 | Y. Al Rajhi / T. Gottscalk | Overdrive Racing | 52hour 52min 15sec |
2 | #211 | H. Lategan / B. Cummings | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +03:57 |
3 | #226 | M. Ekström / E. Bergkvist | Ford M-Sport | +20:21 |
4 | #200 | N. Al-Attiyah / E. Boulanger | The Dacia Sandriders | +23:58 |
5 | #228 | M. Guthrie / K. Walch | Ford M-Sport | +01:02:10 |
6 | #209 | M. Serradori / L. Minaudier | Century Racing Factory Team | +01:12:04 |
7 | #216 | J. Yacopini / D. Oliveras | Overdrive Racing | +01:57:47 |
8 | #240 | J. Ferreira / F. Palmeirp | X-Raid Mini JCW Team | +02:15:57 |
9 | #204 | S. Quintero / D. Zenz | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +02:20:04 |
10 | #214 | B. Baragwanath / L. Cremer | Century Racing Factory Team | +02:59:26 |
15 | #203 | L. Moraes / A. Monleon | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +05:23:30 |
29 | #218 | S. Variawa / F. Cazalet | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | +09:29:56 |
World Rally-Raid Results after Round 1 of 5
1 | Y. Al Rajhi | Overdrive Racing | 70 |
2 | H. Lategan | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 55 |
3 | N. Al-Attiyah | The Dacia Sandriders | 48 |
4 | M. Ekström | Ford M-Sport | 44 |
5 | M. Guthrie | Ford M-Sport | 28 |
6 | S. Quintero | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 28 |
7 | M. Serradori | Century Racing Factory Team | 25 |
8 | J. Yacopini | Overdrive Racing | 23 |
9 | J. Ferreira | X-Raid Mini JCW Team | 22 |
10 | L. Moraes | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 18 |
14 | S. Variawa | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 13 |
World Rally-Raid Results after Round 1 of 5
1 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing | 147 |
2 | Ford M-Sport | 113 |
3 | The Dacia Sandriders | 95 |
Highlight reports from prologue to Stage11 are below.
03 January 2025 PROLOGUE WIN FOR TGR AS LATEGAN/CUMMINGS GO FASTEST
- Fastest prologue time overall set by Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings
- Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon posts 8th-fastest time
- Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet inside Top 10
It was a dream start to Dakar 2025 for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (#211). Their return to the Dakar stage, after Lategan’s absence in 2024 due to injury, was marked by a flawless run, showing the South African duo's readiness for the gruelling days ahead. While the 29km-long pre-race doesn't count towards crews' overall time, the results from the Prologue are used to help determine the starting positions for Stage 1. As such, a good result can be very valuable, especially early in the event.


04 January 2025 QUINTERO/ZENZ WINS DAKAR STAGE 1 FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
- Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz fastest overall on opening stage
- Four TGR crews in Stage 1 Top 10
- All six GR Hilux EVOs completed the stage without major issues
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing started Dakar 2025 with a solid performance on the opening stage of the race. Despite offering a stern test over 413 km of sand and rocks, all six GR Hilux EVOs reached the finish in the town of Bisha without any serious issues. Seth Quintero (USA) and co-driver Dennis Zenz (DEU) were the pick of the bunch, setting the benchmark time of 4hr 35min 08sec, 45sec ahead of the second-placed crew.


05 January 2025 AL RAJHI/GOTTSCHALK LEAD THE WAY FOR TOYOTA ON TOUGH CHRONO STAGE
- Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk leapfrog into stage and virtual overall lead
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings fastest of the TGR crews
- Tough 48h Chrono Stage takes its toll in terms of time
- Approximately 350km remain before crews return to Bisha
The 48h Chrono Stage, serving as Stage 2 of the 2025 Dakar Rally, has proven a tough test for the crews competing in the world's most grueling rally-raid event. Starting in Bisha, the crews raced until 5pm local time, at which point they had to clock in at the nearest of six mini bivouacs in the desert. From there, they will resume racing tomorrow morning, returning to the main bivouac at Bisha. The remaining distance varies based on their progress today, but the leading crews should have roughly 350km to the finish.


06 January 2025 LATEGAN/CUMMINGS TAKE DAKAR LEAD FOR TGR AFTER STAGE 2
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings take over lead of Dakar 2025
- Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk in second overall for Toyota
- Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon in 8th overall
- Disappointment for several TGR crews as 48h Chrono takes its toll
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings not only survived the 967km-long 48h Chrono Stage of Dakar 2025, but they also posted the fourth-fastest time. They trailed the stage winners, Rokas Baciuska and co-driver Oriol Mena in their privately entered Toyota Hilux by just 6min 59sec at the end of the rally's longest stage. This put the works GR Hilux EVO crew at the head of the overall standings, where they now find themselves 4min 45sec clear of Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk (Toyota Hilux), who are in second place.


07 January 2025 STAGE WIN FOR VARIAWA, AS LATEGAN EXTENDS OVERALL LEAD
- Saood Variawa becomes youngest Dakar stage winner in Ultimate Class
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings extend their overall lead
- Solid performances by all six TGR crews
Stage 3 of the 2025 Dakar Rally saw all six TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crews record solid performances, including a stage win by Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet, while Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings extended their overall lead at the top of the standings.


08 January 2025 LATEGAN/CUMMINGS RETAIN LEAD AS AL RAJHI/GOTTSCHALK WIN STAGE 4
- Second stage win Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk, who remain in 2nd overall
- 2nd place on Stage 4 sees Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings retain overall lead
- 11th place on stage for Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon
- 12th place on stage for Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz
- Multiple punctures cause havoc on the stage
The 4th stage of the 2025 Dakar Rally caused multiple upsets among the top competitors, with punctures largely dictating the outcome of the Marathon Stage. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (#211) set the second-fastest time on the rocky stage despite also suffering two punctures. They retain their overall lead in the rally, and are now 6min 54sec ahead of Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk (Toyota Hilux) in second place.


09 January 2025 DAKAR STAGE 5 WIN FOR QUINTERO/ZENZ AS LATEGAN/CUMMINGS MARCH ON
- Stage 5 victory for Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings top overall standings after opening week
- Three TGR crews in overall Top 10
- Rest Day in Hail offers brief respite, as technicians prepare cars for Week 2
The opening week of Dakar 2025 has drawn to a close in the northern city of Hail, following Stage 5 of the gruelling event. For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the opening week brought mixed results, but with Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings (#211) topping the overall standings, the team has every reason to be pleased.


11 January 2025 TGR'S LATEGAN/CUMMINGS STILL ON TOP AFTER DAKAR 2025 STAGE 6
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings retain lead in overall standings
- 4th place on Stage 6 for Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy
- Disappointment for Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon
The sixth stage of Dakar 2025 saw TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings (#211) remain in the overall lead of the rally, despite relinquishing 3min 1sec to Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk who are in second place, in their privately entered Toyota Hilux. The TGR crew suffered a single puncture on the stage of 605km, which took the rally from the Rest Day bivouac at Hail to the town of Al Duwadimi to the south.


12 January 2025 DAKAR STAGE 7 WIN FOR TGR'S MORAES; LATEGAN LOSES HIS ADVANTAGE
- Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon go fastest on Stage 7
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings retain lead, but lose much of their advantage
There was unbridled joy for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon on Stage 7 of the 2025 Dakar Rally. The #203 GR Hilux EVO crew posted a time of 4h 01min 49sec on the 419km stage, which started and finished near the town of Al Duwadimi. This put them 7min 41sec clear of the next-fastest crew, and gave the TGR driver reason for celebration after the disappointment of Stage 6, where he lost significant time.


13 January 2025 LATEGAN/CUMMINGS WIN DAKAR STAGE 8; EXTEND LEAD FOR TGR
- Second consecutive stage victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings win Stage 8 and extend overall lead
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing recorded a fifth stage victory today, when overall rally leaders, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings, won Stage 8 of the 2025 Dakar Rally. The GR Hilux EVO crew have led the rally since Stage 2, and extended their buffer in the overall standings to 5min 41sec with this victory. Toyota have now won seven of the first eight stages, including a stage victory by Yazeed Al Rajhi, who is in second place overall, in his privately entered Toyota Hilux.


14 January 2025 AL RAJHI IN THE LEAD AS TGR'S LATEGAN SLIPS TO SECOND AT DAKAR '25
- 3rd place on Stage 9 for Yazeed Al Rajhi
- Al Rajhi moves into overall Dakar 2025 lead
- Henk Lategan in second place with three stages to go
- Guy Botterill exits the rally after Stage 9 crash
While TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings slipped to second place after Stage 9 of the 2025 Dakar Rally, fellow Toyota competitor, Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk, recorded the third-fastest time of the day, and moved into the overall lead of the race.


15 January 2025 LATEGAN/CUMMINGS RETAKE DAKAR 2025 LEAD WITH TWO STAGES TO GO
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings back into Dakar lead after Stage 10
- Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon fastest of the TGR crews today
- Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz remain in Top 10 overall
Stage 10 of Dakar 2025 was a continuation of the ding-dong battle between TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and co-driver Brett Cummings (#211) and Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk in their privately entered Toyota Hilux. The works GR Hilux EVO crew bested their rivals by 9min 36sec over the 120km dune-filled stage to retake the lead of the rally. The TGR crew is now 2min 27sec clear in the overall standings, with just two stages to go.


16 January 2025 TOYOTA CREWS DUKE IT OUT ON PENULTIMATE DAKAR STAGE
- Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk 3rd on Stage 11
- Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings 5th on Stage 11
- Al Rajhi leads by 6min 11sec overall with 62km to go
The penultimate stage of Dakar 2025 saw an all-Toyota showdown near Shubaytah, in Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings (#211) in their GR Hilux EVO started the day as overall rally leaders, but their road position counted against them during the 275km long 11th Stage. They drove at a fast pace, but quickly caught up with the cars at the front, putting them at a clear disadvantage.


For all the news and more like, share, follow or subscribe to the TGRW2RC channels.
∇Facebook @TGRW2RC : https://www.facebook.com/TGRW2RC/
∇Instagram @tgr_w2rc : https://www.instagram.com/tgr_w2rc/
∇X @TGR_W2RC : https://x.com/TGR_W2RC/
∇YouTube @tgrw2rc : https://www.youtube.com/@tgrw2rc/
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is supported by following partners
