The 2026 Dakar Rally drew to a close on Saturday in the coastal town of Yanbu, bringing an end to more than 7 000km of competition across Saudi Arabia. For Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA), this year’s event proved to be one of the most demanding in recent memory, with crews contending with relentless rocky terrain, deep dune systems, complex navigation and two gruelling marathon stages. All three TGRSA GR Hilux crews reached the finish, underlining both the endurance of the cars and the determination of the team, while consistently demonstrating competitive pace throughout the two-week rally.
Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet led the team’s overall performance, finishing 10th overall and making Variawa the top-placed South African driver at Dakar 2026. Their campaign was highlighted by a hard-fought Stage 8 victory and frequent top-ten stage results. Were it not for a combination of punctures, a damaged driveshaft and time lost in navigation-heavy sections, the pairing showed pace capable of challenging well inside the overall top five.
Long and toughReflecting on the rally, Variawa said that while it had been “a very long and tough race”, he was encouraged by the progress made: It’s my third Dakar and my third finish. We had the pace to be in the top five all the time, we won a stage and that brought confidence back into the team. “Some things were out of my control and cost us a lot of time, but I’ve grown a lot and the results are starting to show.” Cazalet added that securing a top-ten finish was a strong outcome: “Dakar is always tricky and different from what you expect, but we pushed until the end and did it clean. It’s close to our objective before the start and we’re happy with that.” João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro endured one of the toughest Dakar campaigns of their careers, with repeated punctures and an impact with a rock during the second marathon stage causing extensive damage to the front-right corner of the car and resulting in significant time loss.
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