Interview with Jean-Marc Fortin, Team Principal of Overdrive Racing and sporting manager at Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC.
" Two new factory cars and one for Yazeed Al Rajhi in 2026."
Jean-Marc Fortin turned 57 earlier this month, but he shows no signs of slowing down as he juggles more responsibilities than ever before. Overdrive Racing, which he has led into battle at the Dakar thirteen times, rang in 2025 with a triumph in Saudi Arabia that saw Yazeed Al Rajhi stand on the top step of the podium for the first time. Behind the scenes, the Belgian has taken the lead in the development of the future desert Toyotas, including a new internal-combustion version that is set to hit the track in 2026. Also wearing the sporting manager cap at Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC since last January, Jean-Marc Fortin has promoted Henk Lategan to take the fight to Nasser Al Attiyah until 2027. We sat down with "Boule", who has been bowling one strike after another and wrapped up the conversation with a nod to another Belgian, "The Cannibal".
Christian Loriaux, an engineer with stints at Prodrive, M Sport and Hyundai on his CV, joined Overdrive Racing just in time for the start of the 2025 season. What was he hired to accomplish?
Christian Loriaux signed for Overdrive Racing at the end of last year and got involved in the Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC programme to build a new car in Europe with financial support from Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe and Japan. Christian is the technical director of this new project, which got off the ground six months ago. Overdrive Racing already had the right instincts, with the development of elements such as engine management for the torque meter at the last Dakar, but the chassis and technical parts were still sourced from South Africa. Things are going to be very different from now on. Our new car, which will compete as soon as 2026, is being designed in Belgium with European resources.
Christian Loriaux was already your consultant in the 2021 Dakar. Why did you want to bring him even closer?
We needed a full-time technical director because Toyota has projects that need a bit more of structure to be completed within a rather short time. For example, we met the Dakar organisers to showcase the future Hilux, it will incorporate new technology derived from the Hyse project entered on the Dakar Mission 1000. But, before that, Christian will have to create the new chassis because we will be fielding a new internal-combustion car in the 2026 Dakar, equipped with the same 3.5 L twin-turbo engine. The new tech will be developed in parallel. This car is not intended to be a winner, but a demonstrator model that we can use to put some choices to the test in a hostile environment. The revolution will come in the 2027 Dakar, or perhaps in 2028.
Glyn Hall, the mastermind behind the current Hilux DKR, also joined the team in early July. What is his role?
The Team Principal at Toyota Gazoo Racing when Nasser won the Dakar in 2022 and 2023 and I was serving as sporting manager is back in the bivouac. Glyn Hall is joining as a technical consultant for the Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC project as a whole. Even though we managed to win without him last year, it's good to have him back with us because he's the one who turned Toyota into a force to be reckoned with in rally-raid tech. It's important to be able to count on such an incredible asset and I'm really pleased with how things are going.
The Hilux DKR turbo version came out in late 2023 and started racing in 2024–25. Don't you think two years is a bit on the short side when you're remaking a car from the ground up?
No, because we have a car that was developed for the 2019 Dakar. We adapted to the T1+ class for the 2022 Dakar, "bulking it up" with wider tracks, but it retains the narrow chassis of a T1. The new car is wider, allowing us to lower the centre of gravity of certain elements and opening the door to a slew of improvements, such as a new geometry, new brakes… It'll be a whole new car with a revamped look.
How many new Hiluxes will start the 2026 season and who will be driving them?
At least three. Two new factory cars and one for Yazeed Al Rajhi in 2026 is what we have in mind. On top of that, we might have a test car with a third Toyota Gazoo Racing driver. Henk Lategan is now in the programme and will no longer be taking part in his national championship in South Africa. He'll be part of the W2RC programme in a Toyota Gazoo Racing factory car in late 2025, 2026 and 2027. We're on the right track to continue the experience with Seth Quintero. We took a chance on him and are going to see it through until the end. He'll have to prove his mettle in 2026. He did well in South Africa and finished just outside the podium, and God knows that the competition was stiff. I'm thrilled to keep Seth on board for another season.
"Henk Lategan will be part of the W2RC programme in a Toyota Gazoo Racing factory car in late 2025, 2026 and 2027."
When will we be seeing Yazeed Al Rajhi again?
The Baja Aragón was on our radar, but it's too soon. We postponed his return to September, just before Portugal, so we can race together at the end of the season and, of course, in 2026.
Can Henk Lategan beat Nasser Al Attiyah for the world championship this season?
If you'd asked me after the Dakar, I would've said "yes". He put in a superb performance at the beginning of the season, taking the runner-up's spot in the Dakar in his return to competition following injury. It all came down to a handful of moments. Leaving him on the sidelines for procedural reasons due to his contract with South Africa irritated him. His no-show at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge changed the tide of the competition. His victory in South Africa proved that he has what it takes to win the championship. We're now lagging by a few points. He can go toe to toe with Nasser in Portugal, although the Dacia is in its element on this kind of terrain. Next up is Morocco, which is basically Nasser's backyard. It's going to be tough, but internal matters probably cost us the title.
You've won three editions of the Dakar with Al Attiyah and the most recent one with Al Rajhi, as well as two driver W2RC championships and three manufacturer titles. Are you satisfied?
Toyota hasn't done too bad since 2019! Winning the 2019 Dakar washed away the bitter taste that had lingered for several seasons due to the rules giving two-wheel drive vehicles an edge over our T1 4×4s. We now have the same tyres and same engine types —except for Ford—, but with a rather well-rounded car. Ever since the inception of the T1+ class in 2022, we've had a fiercely contested championship with a bright future, with new manufacturers embarking on the W2RC adventure. As for the results, we're still in a prime position to take the manufacturers' title. Of course I'm satisfied. We've been spoilt these last few years, with plenty of victories, and we remain locked in a gripping duel with Dacia, Ford and Mini. But I'm always hungry for more. My role model is a Belgian cyclist known as "The Cannibal" [Eddy Merckx]. I think his iron will showed the world that you should never give victory away. We saw that with our victories in the Dakar and South Africa earlier this year, hopefully the first of many to come.
