Toyo returns to Dakar Rally action

Toyo is supporting the Toyota Auto Body Team for the fourth consecutive year in the 2024 Dakar Rally. The manufacturer has supplied the Toyo Open Country MT/R in size LT285/70R17 116/113P for fitment on the team’s two Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR. The team will compete over 5,000km of special stage and nearly 8,000km in total before the conclusion of the event in Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea on 19 January.

Competitors on the Dakar have to deal with 12 gruelling stages including a 48hr special which will add a random element with competitors having to stop at the nearest of eight different bivouacs once the clock hits 4pm. Their team will be unable to assist them and they will not find out their relative position until they complete the second part of the stage the following day. The 48hr special takes place in the empty quarter and with separate tracks for cars and bikes, no advantage can be gained by the cars at the front of the race who follow on from the bike starts.

The Toyota Auto Body team is competing for their 11^th consecutive win in the production class. In 2023, Ronald Basso came out top after Akira Miura suffered a big accident early on. Miura will be looking to add to his tally of victories which include 2021 and 2022 in this year race. Following the death of Laurent Lichtleuchter in a rally in April, Miura will be racing with French co-driver, Mayeul Barbet.