Having campaigned the first two rounds across the hot sands of the Middle East, the third event of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) headed into Portugal and Spain for the only European round of the season, the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid. This year’s event was characterised by extremely wet and muddy conditions, yet despite this different challenge Toyota Gazoo Racing recorded another important podium finish to retain its place at the top of the manufacturers’ standings. How did the team achieve this W2RC 2024 result?
Round three: BP Ultimate Rally-Raid
Round three started with a short prologue to determine the final starting orders, followed by five competitive stages in Portugal and Spain. The unusually wet weather made reading the route ahead extremely tricky, while the muddy conditions played havoc with auxiliary belts and forced several competitors to struggle along without power assistance for their steering. Unfortunately, this problem affected Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz in TGR’s #206 GR DKR Hilux Evo T1U and ultimately led to the pair abandoning the opening stage.
Teammates Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon were able to successfully negotiate the watery conditions and continued to fight hard and show remarkable tenacity throughout the event. The final stage saw Hilux #205 set the fastest time, 12 seconds clear of the crew in second place. This finish netted the pair maximum stage points, cementing their podium position and earning Toyota 20 additional points towards the manufacturers’ championship.
W2RC 2024 results: BP Ultimate Rally-Raid final standings
| 1 | #206 | N Al-Attiyah / E Boulanger | Nasser Racing by Prodrive | 10h 02m 57s |
| 2 | #214 | J Ferreira / F Palmeiro | X-Raid MINI JCW Team | +02m 49s |
| 3 | #205 | L Moraes / A Monleon | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +03m 36s |
| 4 | #200 | C Sainz / A Haro | X-Raid MINI JCW Team | +06m 12s |
| 5 | #209 | Y Al Rajhi / T Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | +17m 11s |
| 43 | #206 | S Quintero / D Zenz | Toyota Gazoo Racing | +6h 41m 27s |
W2RC 2024: manufacturer championship standings
| POSITION | MANUFACTURER | POINTS |
| 1 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 143 |
| 2 | Nasser Racing by Prodrive | 120 |
| 3 | X-Raid MINI JCW Team | 77 |
| 3 | Team Audi Sport | 76 |
W2RC 2024: What’s next?
Round four of this year’s FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) is the Desafío Ruta 40, which is contested in Argentina on 1-7 June. Running the length of the country, this penultimate event is renowned for its stunning natural landscapes and stages that challenge competitors with a wide variety of terrains, including dry rivers, dunes and salt flats.
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