Team Spirit Keeps Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC in Dakar 2026 Fight on Stage 10

The challenge of Dakar Rally 2026 for Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC suffered a significant blow on Stage 10, yet a strong display of team spirit ensured the Japanese manufacturer remains firmly in contention for overall victory. In the closing kilometres of the demanding marathon stage, cooperation between team-mates proved decisive in preserving Toyota’s position near the top of the standings.

Stage 10 marked the conclusion of the marathon leg, during which crews spent the night in tents and carried out all vehicle repairs without any external assistance. The route to Bisha featured a 420-kilometre timed section across fast, undulating dunes, placing heavy emphasis on navigation accuracy, fuel management, and mechanical reliability. In such conditions, even minor miscalculations carried major consequences.

Henk Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings initially remained in the hunt for outright victory. The #202 Toyota GR Hilux ran inside the top three shortly after the midpoint of the stage and matched the pace of the leaders despite several navigational challenges. With overall classification taking priority over stage honours, the South African crew managed their run carefully through the bulk of the test.

Drama struck less than 10 kilometres from the finish when Lategan and Cummings were forced to stop after running out of fuel. At that critical moment, Toby Price and Armand Monleon demonstrated exemplary teamwork by stopping to tow the stranded #202 Hilux to the finish line. The intervention kept Lategan and Cummings in the rally and ultimately proved vital for Toyota’s overall ambitions.

Despite the delay, Lategan and Cummings still finished seventh on Stage 10. More importantly, time losses for key rivals allowed them to climb to second place overall. They now trail rally leaders Nasser Al Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin of Dacia Sandrider by 12 minutes, with three stages and 764 kilometres of competitive distance still to come—margins that remain recoverable in Dakar terms.

The selfless act by Price and Monleon came at a cost to their own result. As the third car on the road, the #204 Hilux already faced a disadvantage in navigation. After assisting their team-mates, they finished 41st on the stage. Nevertheless, they remain ninth overall, keeping a top-10 Dakar result firmly within reach heading into the final days.

A similarly cooperative approach was adopted by Seth Quintero and Andrew Short. The #203 Hilux deliberately compromised its early-stage pace to shadow Lategan and Cummings, ensuring immediate support if required. Although a missed waypoint cost them time later on, they recovered to finish 14th on the stage. Quintero and Short now sit 13th overall, just nine minutes shy of the top 10.

Stage 10 once again underlined that Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC’s strength lies not only in outright speed, but also in disciplined strategy and collective execution. In the context of Dakar, where attrition often outweighs pure performance, such teamwork can be the defining factor in sustaining a title challenge.

Outside the Toyota camp, Mathieu Serradori and Loic Minaudier claimed stage victory for Century Racing. They finished ahead of Al Attiyah/Lurquin, while Sebastien Loeb and Edouard Boulanger completed the podium for Dacia.

Dakar Rally 2026 – Provisional Stage 10 Results (Ultimate)

Provisional Overall Standings After Stage 10 (Ultimate)

As the rally heads north toward Al Henakiyah before the final run to Yanbu, Stage 10 stands as a clear reminder that Dakar 2026 is not decided by speed alone. For Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC, collective discipline and mutual support have ensured their challenge remains alive as the rally enters its decisive final phase.