Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body will finally have some competition in the Stock class come 2026 with Land Rover’s arrival. Until then, it was the only Stock team at the 2025 Dakar Rally (Ibrahim Almuhna, the only other person who raced alongside the Toyotas in 2024, switched to SSV for 2025), which ensured a 12th victory as long as its drivers reached the finish.

Akira Miura scored his fifth victory in the class and second in a row after “defeating” his teammate Ronald Basso. With nobody to compete against, their main goal was to see how the production-based Toyota Land Cruiser 300s handled what many considered one of the toughest routes since the rally moved to Saudi Arabia.

The rally commenced on a solid note for both cars as they went through the Prologue without issue. Even Stage #1, where more than a handful of purpose-built race cars were knocked out already by the rocky terrain, only saw minor snags as Basso got stuck in sand before pulling Miura out from rocks.

Miura had some electrical and driveshaft issues in the Chrono Stage that cost him three hours, but that was fortunately fixable and the only trouble the team faced in the two-day leg. Flats permeated the team over the next two legs, with three for Basso in Stage #3, followed by another for him and two for Miura during the marathon of Stage #4. The only major issue faced during the marathon was a hole in the CV boot of Miura’s left front wheel, which they replaced. Miura also had to race slower on the fifth stage after miscalculating the tire pressure and setting it too low.

The start of the second half was another story. Basso’s ECU malfunctioned early on in Stage #6 while Miura had an engine problem at the end of the transfer zone that cost him 15 minutes followed by a drivetrain malfunction that left him down two hours. Neither made it back to the bivouac until well after hours, Basso doing so at 12:30 AM while Miura did so an hour and a half later.

Toyota managed to get the Land Cruisers mostly patched together in time for the next stage. Their tires, on the other hand, were the Stage’s #7’s target. Basso ran over a rock and got stuck, then suffered flats on both right-side tires. Miura didn’t suffer any punctures, but that was partly because his valve stem was jammed and kept him at a lower tire pressure than hoped.

A driveshaft gave way for Basso 20 kilometers before the Stage #8 finish, which gave the stage win to Miura.

Both Land Cruisers went through a crucicle on the ninth leg with two flats on the #501 and four for the #500. The former had the turbocharger glitch 50 kilometers after starting, then the automatic fire extinguisher suddenly went off and the rear left shock came loose. Miura and Jean-Michel Polato suffered the fourth flat just 50 km from the end but were out of spare tires, so they grabbed one of the damaged tires and used that as a replacement until that went down as well, prompting them to use yet another punctured tire as a replacement for the replacement.

A strange noise forced Basso to stop right before finishing Stage #10, which turned out to be because of an oil leak in the drivetrain. This forced him to shut off the engine and be towed to the finish, effectively ending his chances of winning the overall. Miura avoided trouble that day and across the final two stages to secure the win.

Basso lost more time on the penultimate day because he couldn’t get over the high dunes and had to find a detour. A clean Stage #12 still brought him to the finish regardless.

“I’m relieved that we were able to achieve our 12th consecutive victory in the production car class, said Miura. “The vehicle regulations are changing next year, so this will be the last time I drive the Land Cruiser 300. I’ve been driving this car carefully and with gratitude for the past three years. This time, we improved the vehicle’s capabilities to better respond to the race’s increased difficulty. Even when we had trouble, we were able to continue thanks to the mechanics. I also think my past experience in other races and categories helped me stay focused when it was time to compete.”

Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation, issued the following statement to the team:

Congratulations on your 12th consecutive win.

When Team Land Cruiser won its eighth consecutive Dakar Rally in 2021, I mistakenly sent you all the following words: “You did it! Congratulations on your 12th consecutive victory! Congratulations on your hard work…”

Mr Miura was quick to point out my mistake, saying: “It was Hino which won 12 consecutive titles.”

But I responded: “I am saying V12 in many places, so please make it V12! Win four more times!”

I was well aware of the tremendous pressure this “terrible” exchange was putting on Team Land Cruiser.

Overcoming this pressure year after year, they drove through the grueling roads and won V9, V10, V11.

And this year, you finally made the promised V12 a reality.

Let me say it again: “Congratulations on your 12th consecutive victory! Congratulations on your hard work…”

I finally got to say these words. Thank you for giving me this opportunity!

When I asked Mr. Miura to win four more times, he replied: “I’m quite happy because I want to rally as much as I can.”

I think it has been a difficult four years. However, I believe that the Land Cruiser has become an “ever-better-car” year after year thanks to his continuous efforts.

Coincidentally, the year the team achieved victory number 12 was our last year in the production class.

Even though the team have fulfilled the promise of V12, will everyone’s feelings remain the same, will they say “I want to rally as much as I can”?

If your feelings remain the same, I hope that you will continue to hone Land Cruisers in the future.

Please continue to make ever-better cars.

Thank you, adventures, for keeping your word.

Overall results

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Time	Margin
1	83	500	Akira Miura	Jean-Michel Polato	Team Land Cruiser Auto Body	83:34:10	Leader
2	108	501	Ronald Basso	Jean-Pierre Garcin	Team Land Cruiser Auto Body	123:14:20	+ 39:40:10

Stage winners

Stage	Winner	Time
Prologue	Akira Miura	20:24.5
Stage #1	Ronald Basso	5:53:08
Stage #2	Ronald Basso	18:57:12
Stage #3	Akira Miura	4:46:51
Stage #4	Ronald Basso	6:41:26
Stage #5	Akira Miura	6:01:30
Stage #6	Ronald Basso	9:46:26
Stage #7	Akira Miura	5:51:03
Stage #8	Akira Miura	6:36:25
Stage #9	Akira Miura	4:26:01
Stage #10	Akira Miura	2:39:37
Stage #11	Akira Miura	7:43:14
Stage #12	Ronald Basso	1:18:19

Featured image credit: Florent Gooden / DPPI