“We had to push our limits”

2022 was a turning point for the Toyota Auto Body team. It was indeed the final outing of their Land Cruiser 200 and successful it was, once again. The years go by and the Japanese squad remains the one to beat in the T2 class for production cars. The last 9 editions have all been won by the factory team, three of which thanks to Japan’s darling Akira Miura. The 38-year-old remains on two consecutive wins in T2, finishing at the same overall position of 38th. A former co-driver, first with Jun Mitsuhashi back in 2007, then with Frenchman Nicolas Gibon, he perfectly adapted to the steering wheel as an official Toyota Auto Body driver in 2016. Time has now come to start a new chapter in the history of the team with the launch of their new Land Cruiser 300. It all started with a first success at the Morocco Rally but the real goal will once again be the Dakar. Miura will be counting on the precious help of his French co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter who experienced all types of Dakar adventures in trucks first and then in very competitive cars (12th in 2011 with Garafulic). Meanwhile, in the other official Toyota will again be French driver Ronald Basso.

A.M.: “On the last Dakar, I was extremely proud to be a part of TLC’s 9th consecutive victory in the production car category. Also, this 200 was made to be the best Land Cruiser in the 14 years that it ran. My heart is full of appreciation towards everyone involved in the car’s development over the years. With the new Land Cruiser 300, we had to push our limits to identify issues by putting a load on the car tougher than the Dakar Rally, and this was a rally where we just couldn’t give up, in order to gather as much data as possible. It was a tough and tense rally the whole way. The teams were able to maintain their concentration as the two cars pushed through at almost equal times every day and they could confirm real issues, making it a very rewarding rally. At the same time, even though there was some trouble each day, the team of mechanics worked late into the night fully focused to ensure the cars were ready by the start time on the next day. As a result, we could build trust with the Land Cruiser 300 through this rally”.