Akira MiuraMultiple Dakar Rally class winner Akira Miura takes on a new challenge with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) when he strengthens the team’s bid to retain the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) manufacturers’ title.
Emphasising TGR W2RC’s commitment to developing and giving new opportunities to talented drivers, Miura will race a DKR GR Hilux for the remaining four rounds of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), competing alongside navigator Armand Monleón.
The Japanese driver, who has won the Stock class of the legendary Dakar Rally five times with a Toyota Land Cruiser, will make his TGR W2RC debut on Rally-Raid Portugal on March 17-22, one of two W2RC events he previously contested in the Ultimate class.
Last year, Miura competed with a GR Hilux entered by Overdrive Racing in Portugal and South Africa as part of his transition to the Ultimate class. After finishing fifth in class on this year’s Dakar, he prepared for Rally-Raid Portugal by finishing fifth alongside Monleón on January’s Saudi Baja, in a GR Hilux.
Monleón is a familiar and trusted member of the team, having helped Lucas Moraes win the W2RC drivers’ title last season. He helped two-time motorcycle winner Toby Price make his TGR W2RC debut on this year’s Dakar Rally, demonstrating the experience and mentality required to support Miura’s transition to the Ultimate class.
The pair join TGR W2RC’s regular crews – Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings, and Seth Quintero and Andrew Short – for the remaining four rounds of the 2026 W2RC season, featuring events in Portugal, Argentina, Morocco, and Abu Dhabi.
All three crews will race the new DKR GR Hilux, which made its debut on the Dakar Rally. The newly developed vehicle shares the powerful appearance of the ninth-generation Hilux and features a new tubular chassis for increased torsional stiffness and reduced weight, as well as a stronger transmission. It showed immense potential in Saudi Arabia, winning two stages and contending for victory until the closing days.
Quotes:
Akira Miura: “This is a new challenge for me with TGR W2RC, and I sincerely appreciate the opportunity. It’s exciting and of course there is a little pressure. My first time competing with Armand on the Saudi Baja went well and I enjoyed the experience. I am happy to drive with Armand, because he knows the DKR GR Hilux and the W2RC so well. Although I have experience of Rally-Raid Portugal from last season, it will be completely different this year as part of TGR W2RC. I know I have the right car, navigator and team behind me, so I am looking forward to it. I will try to learn as much as I can and consistently improve throughout the season.”
Source: Toyota
Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
