Yasir Seaidan was a stalwart in the T2 class in the mid-2010s. Nearly a decade later, he’s heading back. On Tuesday, he announced he has joined Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body for the Rallye du Maroc and 2027 Dakar Rally.

“All thanks and appreciation to the team for choosing me to represent the team in their next participation in Moroccan Rally and in Dakar Rally 2027,” said Seaidan.

Shortly after making his Dakar debut in 2014 in the T3 category, Seaidan switched to T2 for the ensuing FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. Racing a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, he won the T2.2 subcategory on debut at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge before claiming T2 outright at the Baja Aragón.

He continued to race in the production class through 2018 in a Land Cruiser VJD200. In 2016, he returned to the Dakar Rally and finished third in T2 before winning his class at the Italian Baja, Hungarian Baja, and Rallye OiLibya du Maroc. 2017 was a dominant year as he topped T2 in Abu Dhabi, the Qatar Cross Country Rally, Rally Kazakhstan, Italian Baja, and Morocco.

Seaidan’s final T2 race saw him win T2.2 at the 2018 Ha’il International Rally. He moved up to T1 afterward, where he stayed before returning to his UTV roots in 2023. After winning the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship in SSV, he currently competes in Challenger in a Taurus.

The Saudi driver enjoyed a strong January on his home soil, finishing runner-up at Dakar and topping Challenger at the Saudi Baja two weeks later. He also won his most recent start at the Jordan Baja in February.

Toyota Auto Body had been the top Stock team at Dakar for over a decade, but its reign was snapped this year by Defender Rally. With Akira Miura’s graduation to Toyota Gazoo Racing, the team has overhauled its lineup by adding Seaidan and Christian Lavieille. The latter won Dakar in T2 in 2017, 2019, and 2020 with Toyota Auto Body.

Featured image credit: Yanina Rondan