For the first time in history, a racecar driver from Holland joins an official factory team for the Dakar Rally. During the 40th edition of the Dakar Rally the 40-year-old Dutchman teams up with former Dakar winners Giniel de Villiers and Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa has been one of the top teams in the world's toughest rally for many years. In the last six Dakar appearances, the team from South Africa managed to score 4 podium results with the Toyota Hilux. Being second in both 2013 and 2015 as best performance so far.

On January 6th Bernhard ten Brinke will make his debut as a driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa along with the French co-driver Michel Perin. It will be the fifth Dakar appearance for the Dutch allround driver. In his first Dakar Rally in 2012 Bernhard Brinke managed to finish the heaviest rally of the world in an impressive eighth place.

Three years later he surpassed this achievement with seventh place in the final standings. In the Dakar Rally of 2016, Bernhard wrote racing history after being the first driver from the Netherlands winning a stage in the Dakar Rally. "Bernhard has proven himself as a consistently fast driver since first competing in the Dakar Rally back in 2012. During 2016 he won the opening stage of the event, and we are confident that his pace and consistency will be of benefit not only to our results, but also to his teammates Nasser Al Attiyah and Giniel de Villiers,” says Glyn Hall, Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing SA.

Bernhard ten Brinke: “Being a driver for the official Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa team is a unique opportunity that I will tackle with both hands. In everything you notice how much experience this team has; to the smallest details everything has been thought out. Being able to race the latest specification Toyota Hilux Evo is equal fantastic. With this strong package, my goal is clear: I want to achieve maximum performance in the Dakar Rally 2018."