Nasser Al-Attiyah will complete the rest of this year’s World Rally Raid Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing racing before his expected move to the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme operation next season.
As reported by DirtFish last month, the five-time Dakar Rally winner and defending W2RC champion is thought to be leaving Toyota, with whom he has driven since 2019, at the end of the year.
His destination is tipped to be BRX joining Sébastien Loeb before the World Rally Championship legend heads for pastures new with Dacia in 2025.
The Qatari, and navigator Mathieu Baumel, had been expected to bring their Toyota partnership to a close before the Rally du Maroc – the now traditional Dakar warm-up event and the final round of the W2RC season.
Al-Attiyah currently leads the W2RC standings by 30 points after winning the Dakar and the Sonora Rally in México and will now try to fight for a second world title in Morocco.
Alain Dujardyn, team principal of TGR W2RC said: “I am pleased to confirm the continuity of our successful partnership with Nasser and Mathieu for the remainder of the 2023 W2RC season. I’m also pleased to be able to announce our continued Toyota Gazoo Racing participation in the next W2RC season.
Al-Attiyah added: “I am excited to be able to complete the final two rounds of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing, and the upcoming races offer fantastic opportunities for us to score valuable points in our quest to win back-to-back W2RC titles.”
Toyota is expected to announce its 2024 W2RC campaign and Dakar Rally driver lineup after Morocco which takes place between October 12-18.
