Dakar | Toyota: “What will Sainz do? We look to the new generation”

Carlos Sainz's future after the 2024 Dakar is one of the most repeated questions in the bivouac, given that the Spaniard will be without a team to race with for the next edition. His current structure, Audi Sport, will leave the competition in the Saudi desert after three editions, so if he wants to continue driving a competitive car, he will have to look among those already present.

With Dacia's line-up of Nasser Al-Attiyah, Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez, it looks like they will have to look elsewhere, and one possibility is Toyota. The Japanese have a car that has won three of the last five Touareg trophies and would not be a bad option if the opportunity arises.

In a brief chat with several newspapers, including Motorsport.com, the director of the Japanese team for the Dakar, Alain Dujardyn, was asked if he will consider the possibility of hiring the Spaniard and what the two-time WRC champion will do: “We will evaluate carefully monitor our performance in the Dakar, as well as in the W2RC, but, as I said, we, as Toyota Gazoo Racing, always look to the future.”

“What will Carlos do after the Audi? I think this is the question everyone is asking in the bivouac”, replied the Belgian, who only had words of appreciation for Nasser Al-Attiyah, the experienced driver with whom he won the last two Dakars. “He has been a great brand ambassador for us, but I would say he has taught us so much that we will make sure his legacy is passed on to the next drivers of Toyota Gazoo Racing.”

“We have had a fantastic journey with Nasser for two years in a row,” the team leader continued. “We are very grateful to him for his victories in the W2RC, but as soon as he decided to embark on a new journey, we thought about how to replace him. We made a conscious decision to look into the new generation. That's why in the W2RC we redoubled our efforts and signed Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero, and I think they made themselves stand out (the Brazilian won a stage and the American finished second in the Prologue).