The 2022 Aragon Steel Rally held in the area around the Spanish city of Teruel, brought another victory for Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel.
The pair from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) have won together in 2016, 2017 and 2021, and are now adding a fourth win.
At the same time, the team completed several important tests on the Dakar Rally-winning GR DKR Hilux T1+, as part of preparations for Dakar 2023.
The Aragon Steel Rally follows the classic steel format, featuring two stages running over two separate days.
The total distance for the race, including the link, is 874 km.
Nasser and Mathieu led from the start of the race and never gave up their first position until the finish on Sunday, 24 July 2022.
The pair took home the TGR DKR Hilux T1+ in a total travel time of 7 hours 20 minutes 43.9 seconds, giving them a gap of 3 minutes 2 seconds over Toyota Hilux T1+ closest competitor, Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Another privateer Hilux T1+ was followed in third place by Lucas Moraes of Brazil who trailed by about 5 minutes 25.7 seconds.
With three Toyota Hilux T1+ race cars occupying the podium, TGR is very pleased with its performance during the biggest steel of the year.
Additionally, the high ambient temperatures and varied terrain offered by this year's race allowed TGR engineers to thoroughly test the new single shock absorber setup, as well as the performance of the turbo-charged V6 petrol engine sourced from the Toyota Land Cruiser300.
The win at Baja Aragon this weekend has proven that both the car and the TGR crew are capable of winning races and raised hopes of winning at Rally Morocco during the first week of October 2022.
Nasser follows Sebastien Loeb by one point in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) with two rounds remaining.
As such, the Qatar superstar will be fighting to reclaim the lead in the title race for the remainder of the series this season.
With the Rally of Kazakhstan canceled for 2022, the W2RC has made some changes to the calendar.
The Morocco Rally will be the penultimate round of this year's championship, with the Andalusia Rally finishing last on the calendar.
These two events allow TOYOTA GAZOO Racing to further develop the GR DKR Hilux T1+ in preparation for the grand event of the 2023 Dakar Rally.
