TGR continues 2024 W2RC campaign in Portugal and Spain

• Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz back in action
• Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon return after Round 2 fire
• TOYOTA GAZOO Racing top W2RC Manufacturer Standings after Round 2

The 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) shifts to Portugal and Spain for Round 3, the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, which kicks off with a ceremonial start on April 2nd. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) will again be fielding two official entries, in the form of Seth Quintero and Lucas Moraes, both driving the GR DKR Hilux. Lucas, together with co-driver Armand Monleon, will also be back in action, after losing their car to a fire during Stage 3 of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid is the only round on the five-round 2024 W2RC to take place on the European continent and will offer roughly 1,000 km of competitive racing over varied terrain, including sandy beaches and rough tracks, traversing parts of both Portugal and Spain. The bivouac for the opening stages of the event will be set in the city of Grandola, some 100 km to the south of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Stage 3 will see the rally cross into Spain, with the bivouac moving to Badajoz, before returning to Grandola on Stage 4.

There are five competitive stages in the event, with a prologue to determine the starting orders for the opening stage taking place in the morning of April 3rd. From there, the crews will venture into the rural Portuguese and Spanish areas, returning to the central bivouac at the end of each day.

For TGR, Round 3 offers another opportunity to score valuable points. As it stands, the Japanese marque has a commanding lead of 31 points in the Manufacturer Standings, while both Lucas and Seth, who is partnered with Dennis Zenz as co-driver, will be looking to make up ground to the leaders.

Seth and Dennis suffered a setback after damaging their car during the 2024 Dakar Rally, which served as the opening round for the 2024 W2RC. This precluded them from scoring meaningful points towards the championship, but they drove a steady and mature race during Round 2, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, to bring their GR DKR Hilux EVO home in third place overall. This elevated them to 8th place in the overall W2RC standings, with three rounds to go.

Lucas and Armand were well-placed throughout the Dakar Rally, running in a solid third place until the penultimate stage of the event, when disaster struck. The pair lost significant time on the stage due to a broken damper as well as a compromised wishbone, and tumbled down the order to finish 9th overall. This put them on the back foot for the W2RC, but they pushed hard at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, running in the Top 5 over the two opening stages. But a fire at the end of Stage 3 destroyed their car, and with it any hopes of scoring significant points at the event.

Both crews are hungry for success in Round 3 of the W2RC, and will be aiming to make the most of the terrain offered in Portugal and Spain. Round 4 of the season will see the W2RC move to South America for the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina, before shifting to Morocco for the final round – the Rally of Morocco, which will take place in October 2024.

WORLD RALLY-RAID RESULTS AFTER ADDC – DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD RALLY-RAID RESULTS AFTER ADDC – MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP