In January, Toyota Gazoo Racing‘s GR DKR Hilux T1+ showed out as it won the overall Cars category in its début Dakar Rally with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel. This weekend, the duo and their truck will be performing a rare “triple duty” at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Hilux is part of a four-vehicle effort by TGR that also includes the GR86, GR Supra, and GR Yaris. While the Yaris will focus on the Forest Rally Stage and the Hillclimb features the GR86 and Supra, the Hilux will do both in addition to participating in the Britpart Off-Road Arena. It is already rare for a participant to run the Forest Stage and Hillclimb, but the inclusion of the Off-Road Arena makes for a triple that had never been done in the event’s history.
Modelled after the production pickup truck with changes to accommodate off-road racing, the GR DKR Hilux T1+ features a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine from the street Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GR Sport, along with four-wheel drive. It is capable of 400 bhp/298 kW and carries 600 Nm of torque. The Hilux is also the vehicle of choice for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, who is fielding four in the upcoming TGRSA 1000 Desert Race. The previous Hilux won the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 2016, 2017, and 2021 with Al-Attiyah and Baumel, as well as the 2019 Dakar Rally; prepared by Imperial, this version appeared at Goodwood in 2014 though exclusively on the Forest Stage.
Compared to its predecessor, the current truck is heavier at 2,000 kg, has more suspension travel (350 mm versus 280 mm), larger BFGoodrich tyres (37 inches versus 32, and a width increase from 245 mm to 320 mm) with aluminum Method Race Wheels; other changes come to comply with FIA World Rally-Raid Championship regulations like two spare tyres rather than three. Otherwise, the two Hiluxes have the same mid-engine configuration and cockpit design.
The Hilux is not the only off-road vehicle participating at Goodwood outside of the Off-Road Arena. Extreme E teams Andretti United and Veloce Racing are conducting head-to-head time trials with their Spark ODYSSEY 21s, which Al-Attiyah also races for ABT CUPRA, while XITE Energy Racing has two Nitro Rallycross FC1-X cars.
