Though his contract at Toyota Gazoo Racing was set to finish after the Desafío Ruta 40, Nasser Al-Attiyah plans to finish the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship with the staff. TGR introduced Monday that Al-Attiyah will even run the season-ending Rallye du Maroc on 12–18 October, although neither occasion has revealed their plans for 2024.
“I’m excited to have the ability to full the ultimate two rounds of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing, and the upcoming races provide implausible alternatives for us to attain helpful factors in our quest to win back-to-back W2RC titles,” Al-Attiyah acknowledged.
Al-Attiyah is on the verge of his second straight W2RC title after profitable the Dakar Rally and Sonora Rally. Getting into subsequent week’s spherical in Argentina, he leads fellow Toyota Hilux driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi by thirty factors whereas Sébastien Loeb, who sits third, will finish his championship pursuit as Bahrain Raid Xtreme skips the race to concentrate on Morocco.
In July, Al-Attiyah introduced the Baja España Aragón could be his remaining Baja with TGR however left the door open to a return if negotiations go effectively. Based on co-driver Mathieu Baumel, he and Al-Attiyah elected to check the market as they felt the Hilux, whereas nonetheless the highest rally raid automobile immediately, posed too many uncertainties in the long term to stay round.
Bahrain Raid Xtreme, TGR’s South African satellite tv for pc, and M-Sport’s Ford Ranger programme have additionally courted Al-Attiyah. Preliminary experiences following his announcement had acknowledged he would be a part of Prodrive for the Rallye du Maroc onwards, although Monday’s information poured water on that hearsay. Nonetheless, Al-Attiyah has not confirmed if he would stay with Toyota for the 2024 Dakar Rally or W2RC season.
TGR intends to disclose their 2024 lineup after the Rallye du Maroc.
“I’m happy to verify the continuity of our profitable partnership with Nasser and Mathieu for the rest of the 2023 W2RC season,” stated TGR rally raid boss Alain Dujardyn. “I’m additionally happy to have the ability to announce our continued Toyota Gazoo Racing participation within the subsequent W2RC season. Later this yr, after the Rally of Morocco, we’ll verify additional particulars for 2024 together with our driver and automobile line-up. Nevertheless, for the second, our focus is on the Desafío Ruta 40, which is certain to supply a stern take a look at not solely to the crew, but in addition to our GR DKR Hilux T1+.”
The Desafío Ruta 40 begins on 28 August and runs by 1 September.
