Henk Lategan: "The closest field you'll ever see in the Dakar"

January 1 ^st 2026 - 19:46 [GMT + 3]

Last year's runner-up, Henk Lategan, is back behind the wheel of one of the four new Hiluxes developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC for their drivers and the reigning champion, Yazeed Al Rajhi. The latest model is two days away from its first competitive outing, where it will clash with tried-and-tested Fords, Dacias and other Hiluxes.

"We expect a lot of competition. I think there's some very, very strong teams and everybody's starting to get their cars settled now. I think a lot of the teams are getting to the end of the development cycle of some of the cars. They're quite developed and quite far along in their development. I think the competition is going to be quite close. The rules are written quite well, so I think this is probably the closest field of cars you'll ever see in the Dakar. Also, one of the biggest fields you'll ever see, so definitely there's massive competition. There's a lot of guys that can win and can fight for the podium. So, I'm expecting a really good battle. Obviously, this race is always cruel. It takes out a couple of guys in the beginning. So, I think it's really important to stay in the race and to keep consistent. Like you said, we've tried the past year in the Dakar, in the beginning of the year, to really work on that to be fast consistently. I think that's going to be the aim for this Dakar."