Kevin Benavides is the next Dakar Rally bike champion to race a Toyota Hilux. After a solid run in Challenger, he will move up to the premier Ultimate category for the Desafío Ruta 40 in a Toyota GR Hilux from Overdrive Racing.

Since retiring from bike racing last June due to injuries, the two-time Dakar motorcycle winner has been cutting his teeth in UTVs. He raced a Taurus T3 Max at Dakar in January, topping Challenger in Stage 7 on the same day that his brother Luciano won for bikes. Luciano would go on to win the two-wheel overall while Kevin finished seventh in class.

In March, he scored his first overall win as a driver when he led UTV at the South American Rally Race. With trophies under his belt, he now graduates to the top level and in quality equipment.

“In the past, as we saw for example with Toby Price, we have already worked with Dakar-winning motorbike riders switching from two wheels to four wheels, so hopefully we can do a good job together,” Overdrive boss Jean-Marc Fortin explained.

Price was Benavides’ teammate at Red Bull KTM before permanently switching to driving. He drove a Hilux for Toyota Gazoo Racing at Dakar on a one-off deal.

The DR 40 is Benavides’ home race, taking place in Argentina. He and Luciano were honored by President Javier Milei after Dakar in February.

“I’m very excited to start this collaboration with Kevin because he is a great champion,” Fortin continued. “The family as well, especially after what we saw from Luciano Benavides this year, winning Dakar by just two seconds, which was incredible.

“I crossed paths with Kevin a few times in the bivouac, but the relationship between the bike and car categories is not always easy at first because the riders wake up much earlier than we do. We don’t see each other that often, mostly during the briefings. But I’m close with people from KTM, and they told me he is a great champion.

“His motivation is at 110% whenever he decides to do something, so I’m sure we can do a good job together. There will naturally be some pressure for his home event in Argentina, but it’s our job to keep him calm and help him make a strong start in the T1+ Ultimate category. I hope this will be the beginning of a long journey for him in this category.”

Featured image credit: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool