Toyota Gazoo Racing Boosts Podium Hopes at Rally Raid Portugal
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC once again made headlines by producing good results at Rally Raid Portugal. In Stage 4 of the rally that took place in the framework of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), Toyota drivers had to deal with the difficult challenge of driving on slippery and muddy tracks. Nevertheless, the team successfully kept its ambitions of reaching the podium alive
The fourth stage was over a distance of 317 km of extremely challenging roads while moving to Loule in the Algarve region of Portugal. Due to some rains in the region, the roads were very dangerous for the rallyists with many narrow and tricky sections. Nonetheless, the Toyota crew managed to perform well.
Also Read : Toyota Gazoo Racing Secures Podium Finish in Portugal Rally Raid
Toyota had its major success thanks to the duo of Seth Quintero and Andrew Short. These racers managed to stay true to their form by finishing fourth during Stage 4, narrowly missing the stage podium by just three seconds. What is more important, it was due to their solid performance that Quintero and Short have managed to consolidate their leading position among all the other participants, being only 2 minutes and 30 seconds away from the first two finishers.
The #204 DKR GR Hilux also had an admirable race as they kept learning as well. Though they had late starts, and faced a more difficult track due to damage, they persevered and came out as the 17th place on Stage 4 and 14th overall. This showed the strength that the Toyota team was made up of.
Not everything was positive, however. The #202 DKR GR Hilux belonging to Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings met with a serious accident early in the rally. As a result, it was beyond repair by the time it came to the last day of the rally in Portugal.
Only the final leg left to race at Loulé stands between Toyota’s podium hopes in the current race. It may be noted that though the final leg left in a rally raid event is not much in length, yet it holds immense importance for any competitor because the outcome of just such a small stretch often determines the overall result of the race.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Event | Rally Raid Portugal 2026 |
| Championship | FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) |
| Stage | Stage 4 |
| Stage Distance | 317 km |
| Final Stage Distance | 101 km |
| Best Toyota W2RC Finish | Seth Quintero / Andrew Short – 4th |
| Overall Position | Seth Quintero / Andrew Short – 2nd |
| Gap to Leader | +2 min 30 sec |
| Other Toyota Crew | Akira Miura / Armand Monleón – 17th on Stage 4 |
| Miura Overall Rank | 14th |
| Retired Crew | Henk Lategan / Brett Cummings |
