TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) demonstrated its determination and team spirit by overcoming a difficult day to remain in contention for victory on the 2026 Dakar Rally after Stage 9, the opening part of another gruelling back-to-back marathon.
Having started the day in the overall top three, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings aimed to reduce the deficit to the leader during the marathon stage. It began with the 532 km Stage 9 from Wadi ad Dawasir and included 410 km of competitive action, crossing spectacular canyons.
Those hopes were dented early on. As the second car on the stage, they lost further time to a puncture and then required a power steering change at the pit stop zone, shortly before the 100 km point. Fast work by the team saw the change completed in just 13 minutes, but further setbacks brought another puncture, then a broken windscreen caused by contact with a branch.
Those misfortunes left the #202 DKR GR Hilux more than 25 minutes off the pace, but Lategan and Cummings fought back. Their resilience – driving at high speed and wearing goggles against the sand – limited the damage. Despite finishing 16th, Lategan and Cummings remain only six minutes behind the overall leaders, in fourth, with four stages and over 1,100 km of competition remaining.
From their later starting position, Toby Price and Armand Monleón battled their way into the top 10 by the midpoint and challenged for the top three. They overhauled their rivals over the closing stages to earn third, their first Dakar Rally podium together. That strong performance brings the #204 DKR GR Hilux into the overall top 10, in seventh.
Seth Quintero and Andrew Short faced the daunting navigational task of being only the fourth car on the stage but rose to the challenge. They shadowed Lategan and Cummings over the final part of the stage to offer assistance if required. The #203 DKR GR Hilux finished 11th and edged closer to the top 10 overall, in 12th.
The stage was won by Eryk Goczal and Szymon Gospodarczyk, who led home a one-two for Energylandia Rally Team, ahead of Michal Goczal and Diego Ortega. This ensured all three podium positions went to GR Hilux crews.
Crews will spend the night in tents next to their vehicles before resuming battle when the marathon stage concludes on Wednesday. The sandy 467 km Stage 10 includes a 420 km timed section and takes competitors to the south-western town of Bisha, famous for the stunning White Mountain. Lategan and Cummings will benefit from a later starting position, giving them a fresh chance to close in on the leaders.
Henk Lategan: “It was not a great day, and it’s a long story. We were going quite well in the beginning, even though we were opening the stage. Then we got a puncture before we completely lost the power steering. That was 40 km before the pit stop zone, so we stopped there and the team did an amazing job to replace everything so quickly. We carried on and had another puncture. But we resumed in the dust of another competitor and hit a branch, which we just couldn't see. We had to stop to kick the windscreen out and then run the rest of the day with goggles. It was frustrating but we’ll try to have a cleaner day tomorrow.”
Seth Quintero: “It was a lot of fun out there today, and Andrew did a great job. We only had a couple of issues. Early in the stage we hit a stick and that punctured a front tyre. Then we missed a waypoint by only a few metres and lost a lot of time, which was frustrating. After that we stayed in Henk’s dust and just made sure we were there to help him in case anything happened. If he needed anything, we were there.”
Toby Price: “It’s nice to be on the podium for the first time with Armand. We can enjoy it today but it’s not good for tomorrow when we will be one of the first cars on the stage, so that’s not the best. Our only issue today was getting a bent rim when we hit an edge, which cost a bit of time. We got back into a rhythm and kept going. Now we’ll do our best from a difficult starting position tomorrow.”
Source: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC
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