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Issue #2:January 6, 2026
On January 4, the 2026 Dakar Rally moved into full-scale competition mode. The day’s stage featured a 305 km competition on a loop course from Yanbu, a coastal city on the Red Sea. Despite minor issues such as punctures, TLC’s Land Cruisers delivered a solid performance. Car #503 with Ronald Basso and Julien Menard finished 113th overall in the 4-wheel rankings and 2nd in the Stock class, while car #501 with Akira Miura (Toyota Auto Body staff) and Jean-Michel Polato followed closely in 114th overall and 3rd in class. The Stock class leader was the Land Rover Defender #502 with driver Rokas Baciuškaj and navigator Oriol Vidal. The gap between their time and TLC’s #503 was just 6 minutes 49 seconds, with #501 trailing by just 8 minutes 18 seconds. It’s a promising start for TLC as we aim for our 13th consecutive victory with the Land Cruiser.
Just like the Prologue run, Stage 1 was set amidst the hills of Yanbu. After a 100 km liaison (transfer section) along the coast to the northwest, the SS (competition section) began. The first half headed inland with large undulations, while the second half ran more straight toward the southeast, bringing teams to the finish line. From there, competitors faced another 119 km liaison back to Yanbu along the coast. The recent rainfall made the SS challenging. The terrain was rough, and while there were high-speed sections, much of the course consisted of rocky dry riverbeds (wadis) with deep ruts. Later in the stage, a series of sand dunes appeared, though they posed no major difficulty for the team.
Starting 4th and 5th in the Stock class, TLC quickly moved up to 2nd and 3rd early in the SS after the cars ahead ran into trouble. However, the team faced rock punctures, and the two Land Cruisers swapped positions several times as each dealt with tire changes. Both cars suffered three punctures in total, but thanks to a service point at the 179 km mark, they were able to receive fresh tires from the team, avoiding a situation where they might have run out of spares and be forced to slow down. In the end, #503 crossed the finish in 2nd place in class, while #501 followed just 1 minute 29 seconds behind in 3rd place after suffering a delay due to getting stuck in the sand.
Tomorrow, January 5, Stage 2 will take the rally away from Yanbu and into the mountainous region of AlUla, featuring a 400 km SS along the way. At the bivouac, TLC staff, who have been stationed there since December 30 for test runs and scrutineering preparations, are now getting ready for their first move. The atmosphere is changing as the Dakar intensifies.
(Provisional rankings shown as of 04:00 Japan time)
Miura (driver): We had to deal with two punctures in the first half and one more in the second. Getting spare tires at the service point really saved us. It was also reassuring to see that our rivals slowed down just as much as we did on this tough course. The underbody took a lot of hits today too, and tomorrow’s stage to AlUla is said to be even more rocky, so I plan to drive with patience and composure.
Basso (driver): I was trying to watch out for rocks on those rough tracks but still ended up with three punctures. I thought it wasn’t going to be a good day, but our result wasn’t so bad. I feel like I’ve learned how important it is to just keep going.