Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel have won the car class in the 2023 Dakar Rally, once again winning in a Toyota Hilux. It is the fifth win for the pairing, the third for the Toyota Hilux Dakar, and the second consecutive win for all three.

Al-Attiyah has been in control of this year’s Dakar Rally for over a week, benefitting from both his own speed and misfortune striking most other contenders early. His lead was too big to overcome, but in the second week Sebastian Loeb made his presence known by winning six straight stages. That was enough for Loeb, co-driver Fabian Lurquin, and their Prodrive car to climb into second in the final classification, but Al-Attiyah still finished the rally more than an hour and 20 minutes ahead of any competitor. Loeb, the nine-time world rally champion, has now finished second in the Dakar Rally three separate times without securing a win. Lucas Moraes and co-driver Timo Gottschalk completed the podium in another Toyota.

Notably, the highest-finishing entry from Audi’s high-profile Dakar program finished just 14th, more than six hours off the rally lead. For the second straight year, the ambitious Audi program suffered from significant reliability issues, crashes, and other issues on the road. The top-ranked X-Raid Mini, a dominant force in the rally in the early 2010s, finished 9th.

As of last year, Dakar is now part of the World Rally Raid Championship. That championship fight continues in Abu Dhabi next month. Al-Attiyah and Baumel are the reigning champions, and this Dakar win puts them in a strong early position to defend the title this year.