A South African-built bakkie has clinched the 2019 Dakar rally.

Driven by Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel, the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa’s (SA’s) Hilux powered to the checkered flag on Thursday, nearly 47 minutes clear of second-place Nani Roma and Alex Haro Bravo, in their Mini.

Giniel de Villiers, from South Africa, and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz, also from Toyota Gazoo Racing SA, ended the race in ninth place.

Dakar 2019 ended prematurely for the third Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team, when Dutch driver Bernhard ten Brinke and his French co-driver, Xavier Panseri, suffered transmission failure on Stage 8, in some of the biggest dunes on this year’s race.

Dakar 2019 was not only a first win for Toyota, but it was also the first petrol-powered car to win the rally in the South American era, with race historically stage in Africa.

While consistently placed somewhere in the top five since Toyota Gazoo Racing SA first came together in 2012, the team had not managed better than second spot in the Dakar, doing so in 2013, 2015 and 2018.

Team principal Glyn Hall is ecstatic with the 2019 win.

“This victory was long overdue.”

Hall and his team take the made-in-South Africa Hilux bakkies and turn them into racing machines at his workshop in Midrand, Gauteng.

All three Toyota Gazoo Racing SA crews fielded the latest evolution of the Toyota Hilux, which saw a major revamp for Dakar 2018, when the car was updated with a mid-engine layout and new suspension geometry for the race.

“We are so happy to win the Dakar – not only for ourselves, but also for Toyota and the entire Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team,” adds Al Attiyah. “Everyone has worked so hard for so long and really deserves this. Thank you for letting us drive this car.”

Dakar 2019 started and finished in the Peruvian capital of Lima, with ten stages taking the crews on a loop through the southern section of the country, before finishing back in Lima.

The 2019 event was the 41st edition of the Dakar rally.

It is the second-largest motorsport event, eclipsed only by F1.

This year saw crews from 54 nations compete for the title.