On Monday, it was announced that highly respected motorsport engineer Christian Loriaux will immediately assume the role of Head of Development for Overdrive Racing’s TGR Dakar Team.
The 58-year-old Belgian boasts a long and illustrious career, having worked with top teams in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and endurance racing. In recent years, he served as the head of Hyundai’s WRC programme, where he was also regarded as a technical guru.
Hyundai unexpectedly announced before Christmas, just a month ahead of the 2025 WRC season, that Loriaux would be leaving the team to pursue new challenges. Now, his new destination has been revealed.
Loriaux’s future responsibilities include the ongoing development of the Toyota Hilux for the Dakar Rally and other desert racing events. According to Toyota’s statement, his work will focus on long-term technological solutions and ensuring success in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
This recruitment is a major win for Toyota and Overdrive Racing. Loriaux played a pivotal role at Hyundai, and such high-profile moves from one major competitor to another are rare.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Dakar project is managed by Belgian outfit Overdrive Racing, with whom Loriaux will now be employed.
“We are delighted that Christian joins the Overdrive family. There is no doubt that both the official TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team and the many privateers that are part of the Toyota W2RC community will benefit from his knowledge and commitment,” commented Andrea Carlucci, head of Toyota’s W2RC team, in a statement.
“We are very pleased to welcome Christian Loriaux to the team,” added Overdrive Racing’s Managing Director, Jean-Marc Fortin.
“He is such a famous engineer with an impressive history with Subaru, Ford, Bentley and Hyundai. Honestly, this is an honour and a new motivation for us to build an even stronger R&D department. He will be heading the department to fight with all the other teams and to develop new technology with Toyota Gazoo Racing and to look what we can achieve together in cross-country racing,” he continued.
Loriaux began his career at Prodrive, working on the Subaru Impreza programme from 1991 to 2002. He then joined M-Sport Ford, where he served as Chief Engineer and Technical Director, before moving to Hyundai’s rally team in 2021.
Loriaux’s passion for motorsport is evident in his early career, when he worked without pay for the RAS Sport team while simultaneously studying at a Belgian university. Later, at Subaru, he made groundbreaking contributions while collaborating with world champion drivers Colin McRae and Petter Solberg.
Overdrive Racing will field nine cars in next year’s Dakar Rally. Drivers include Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Rokas Baciuska, Juan Cruz Yacopini, Toby Price, Urvo Männama, Marcos Moraes, and Esteve Pujol. Additionally, the team will provide full-service support for TGR drivers Seth Quintero and Lucas Moraes.
The 2025 Dakar Rally will take place from 3–17 January in Saudi Arabia.
