TOYOTA

“I am very, very happy to do it, it’s the toughest Dakar that I’ve done in the last eleven years. For sure, I’m very happy – me and Timo and my team did a great job like always. For sure, I am proud to become the first Saudi guy winning a Saudi Dakar. Now, it is time to look at the next step, the world champion title.”

TG

• Timo Gottschalk is not only one of the best co-drivers in the sport, but he is also an experienced motorcyclist. In his spare time, he organises tours for enthusiasts in Germany. He first competed in the Dakar in 2007 as navigator for Dieter Depping in a truck. Again, with the same driver, he switched to a car (Volkswagen Race Touareg) the following year, finishing an impressive 6th overall. There was no doubt that he was spotted by Nasser Al Attiyah, who joined the German team in 2010.
• After finishing runner-up in 2010, the two men won in 2011 after an all-out battle with Carlos Sainz. With Volkswagens withdrawal, the pair went their separate ways the following year.
• The native of Neuruppin, north of Berlin, has been a Dakar regular since his debut, taking turns in the cockpit of Carlos Sainz, Yazeed Al Rajhi (once), Kuba Przygonski and then the very promising Lucas Moraes, with whom he finished an impressive third place in 2023.
• He reunited with Al Rajhi for the rest of the 2023 season and the 2024 Dakar, which ended in a rollover on stage six.
• Gottschalk, the runner-up in the W2RC co-driver's world championship for the second year running, is now dreaming of making his driver shine on the Dakar.