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Issue #16:June 2, 2022
TLC is set to debut the new generation rally car in the 2023 Dakar Rally’s production car category. The car is based on the Land Cruiser 300 series, and full-scale activities for the 2022 round have begun.
After the 2022 Dakar Rally finish where the Land Cruiser 200 had its last run, TLC has been working together with Toyota Motor Corporation, the development division at Toyota Auto Body and related companies to obtain approval by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) to enter the production car category in the 2023 Dakar Rally where the Land Cruiser 300 series GR SPORT will debut. In May of this year the car was approved and can now stand at the start line in the Dakar Rally.
In June, as they work towards their debut win, the team will be performing endurance testing in the African country of Morocco after repeated setups through trial and error. The team plans to run on terrain similar to that found in the Dakar Rally, consisting of sand dunes and high-speed gravel, fesh-fesh consisting of sedimented layers of fine dust and other terrain. A total of about 5,000 km is planned, which is equivalent to the total distance of the Dakar Rally’s competitive stages.
Drivers Akira Miura (Toyota Auto Body, General Administration Division, Public Affairs Department) and Ronald Basso who joined the team in the 2021 rally will be working together with their Dakar navigators Laurent Lichtleuchter and Jean-Michel Polato.
In addition, Isamu Ito (Fukuoka Toyota Motor) who has joined the team newly since April 2022, Naoki Anami (Fukuoka Toyota Motor), and Yuta Nakatake (Fukuoka Toyota Motor) will take part in the test as Japanese mechanics. The new generation rally car is undergoing endurance testing for the first time, so the mechanics will be learning plenty about tackling any issues they might face, which will increase their knowledge of the car so they can prepare and strengthen it even more for its debut run.
Engineers from TOYO TIRE Corporation who entered into a partnership with TLC since last year will also be attending to evaluate the updated test tires for the 2023 rally.
Scenes from the test will be shared on official TLC Instagram and Facebook accounts, so stay tuned!