HOME > Latest News > 2026 > Issue #1
Issue #1:January 5, 2026
The 2026 Dakar Rally kicked off on January 3 with a 22 km prologue run through the hills near the start at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia. TLC is competing in the Stock category (formerly Production Car) with two new Land Cruiser rally vehicles. Car #501, driven by Akira Miura (Toyota Auto Body staff) with navigator Jean-Michel Polato, finished 77th overall in the 4-wheel vehicles and 4th in the Stock category. Car #503, with Ronald Basso and Julien Menard, secured 111th position overall and 5th in the category. The Stock category leader was Car #504, a Land Rover Defender driven by Sara Price with navigator Sean Berriman, finishing 34th overall. It was a short-distance stage and the gaps were tight, with TLC’s #501 in 4th place trailing by just 58 seconds, and #503 in 5th place by just 1 minute 44.2 seconds.
The prologue stage determines starting positions for Stage 1 but does not count toward the final results. Although the prologue is considered a warm-up stage, TLC approached it with a high focus, as it was the first competitive run for their new rally cars. This year, the Production Car category has been renamed Stock, with revised regulations aimed at improving performance and revitalizing the class. The Dakar’s routes have become more demanding in recent years to match the performance of modified vehicles and lightweight buggies, so these changes aim to keep stock vehicles competitive. TLC, committed to continuing racing with production-based Land Cruisers, is aiming for a 13th consecutive victory in the category.
The 317 vehicles that were cleared in scrutineering between January 1-2, ran in today’s prologue: 115 Bikes, 72 Ultimate (modified cars), 7 Stock (production cars), 37 Challenger (lightweight prototype buggies), 41 SSV (lightweight production buggies), and 45 Trucks. Land Rover has entered three Defender cars with factory support, making this year’s rally even more challenging for TLC.
The day’s SS (competition section) was a clockwise loop, starting from a hilly area 44 km north of Yanbu after a liaison (transfer section) from the town which faces the Red Sea coast. The surface consisted mostly of straight sandy tracks with deep ruts, allowing high speeds thanks to its flat terrain. However, the route changed dramatically along the way, featuring winding canyons and rocky sections. Both TLC cars maintained a steady pace throughout, reaching the finish without any mechanical trouble and punctures.
After another 33 km liaison back to Yanbu, both cars returned to the bivouac and took part in the start ceremony. TLC team members took the seaside podium together with Toyota Auto Body executives Masaaki Ito (Executive Vice President) and Takuo Ishikawa (Senior Fellow), as well as Naomiki Kaneko (President of Fukuoka Toyota Corporation) and Koichi Kinoshita (Executive Officer), who had come all the way from Japan to show their support. The team waved to the cheering crowd and united as one, completely focused on the full-scale rally starting the next day.
Stage 1 on January 4 will feature a 305 km SS (competition section) on a loop course starting and finishing in Yanbu.
(Rankings as of January 4, 01:00 local time)
Miura (driver): The prologue was mostly fast sandy off-road tracks, perfect for picking up speed. Our new rally car ran smoothly without any trouble, so it was a great warm-up. Of course, our main goal in this rally is to achieve our 13th consecutive victory with the Land Cruiser. But now that we’ve entered a new era with the Stock category, we also want to be the very first champions of this class, and we’re determined to make that happen.
Basso (driver): I kept a safe pace today in the prologue run. The new car feels great; final adjustments went smoothly, and everything is working perfectly. Tomorrow, the real competition begins. It’s going to be very rocky in the first two or three stages, which can increase the risk of damage to the car. We need to drive carefully. After that, the sand will get deeper, so we plan on staying alert. We have one goal: Victory. I want to meet the team’s expectations.