Toyota 1000 Desert Race

I love motor racing, as many of us do. I’ve made it a part of my life and have even been fortunate enough to be able to work a little closer than most to the action thanks to commentary, photography and general media work. While it’s not the gold medal of being behind the wheel, it’s close enough to get the heart racing.

Many youngsters dream of being racing car drivers and while this yearning did in fact manifest itself in my brain fleetingly, I had a greater predilection towards managing a team, being behind the scenes.

Imagine my delight when I found out that I was being invited to join Toyota Gazoo Racing in the desert of Botswana as they campaigned not two, but three 2016 FIA Class Toyota Hiluxes in the annual Toyota 1000 Desert Race. 1000km of grueling wilderness, unforgiving terrain and some of the harshest conditions that competitors in the Donaldson Off-road Championship would encounter this year.

While Geniel de Villiers was out of the country, playing on Lord March’s driveway at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed, it would be the works teams of Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy, and LeeroyPoulter and Rob Howie that would be representing Toyota Gazoo Racing. They would be joined by once-off Toyota Gazoo team mate, Conrad Rautenbach who joined forces with Dirk von Zitzewitz to campaign a third Toyota Hilux.

The TDR (Toyota Desert Race) acts as a qualifier for the 2017 Dakar challenge where the winning crew is awarded entry into the prestigious event the following year. This ups the stakes and the tension surrounding the DTR is positively palpable.

It would also be the first year that the off-road bikes were included in the proceedings, creating a more festive vibe in and around the DSP. It was a welcomed change and seemed to make everyone just that little bit more competitive.

Friday

Friday had competitors taking to a 120km qualifying stage in and around the Jwaneng area. While the Desert name elicits thoughts of rolling, sandy dunes, the area of Jwaneng is remarkably flat and while sandy and dusty, it is densely vegetated with unforgiving undergrowth. Hard, dry bushes and unforgiving Acacia trees lined the paths that the competitors had to traverse. Many a vehicle returned after the day with shredded bodywork, missing panels and tyres that were nothing more than tattered casings.

Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux were the fastest for the day, giving them a clear run without dust the following morning. Fellow Toyota Gazoo drivers, Poulter and Rautenbach, completed the qualifying in second and sixth respectively.

Brazilian brothers, Marcos and CristianBaumgart, campaigning two Woolridge Motorsport Ford Rangers, qualified in fourth and fifth position, but this is as high as they would place in the competition.

Saturday

With an enthusiastic opening ceremony, the field of over 40 National competitors and a multitude of regional competitors, took to the vast expanse that is the Jwaneng district. The day would consist of two 225km loops towards Maokane, Lefhoko and Makhomma, before doubling back to the finish line in Jwaneng.

Early in the day, Taylor and Murphy incurred a 1 hour penalty due to starting from the wrong way point. This decision was later changed to a 15 minute penalty after closer inspection revealed that the pair were not to blame for the misunderstanding. This however still put a nasty dent in their lead.

After the two loops, it was Poulter and Howie that held the lead with Taylor / Murphy a further 12 minutes adrift and in fourth place. Marc Corbet and Juan Mohr, in a Century Racing CR5 was the second fastest on the day overall, however was not competing in the same class as the FIA-class cars.

Rautenbach and von Zitzewitz came in third, followed by the Red-Lined Motorsport Nissan Navara of Johan van Staden and Mike Lawrenson. The Brazilian competitors did not finish the day, opting to retire instead, succumbing to the harsh conditions of the Botswana terrain. Africa isn’t for sissies.

Sunday

Poulter and Howie would start the final day in front, with a 17-minute head start over Corbet / Mohr and an even larger 21-minute lead over Rautenbach and von Zitzewitz.

This lead would only increase as the duo tor through the two 190km loops out towards Lefhoko, Tshono, Tsonyane and Sese.

With the terrain gradually deteriorating, the going got tough and many a competitor fell by the wayside.
The Red-Lined Motorsport team of Terence Marsh and Derek Watts (of Carte Blanche fame) found the going particularly tough on the Saturday, unable to finish the second loop. Their Sunday fared better and the two were able to finish in 16th place overall.

It was Toyota Gazoo Racing that decimated the field though and displaying unbeatable reliability, with not so much as a single mechanical failure over the weekend, locked out the podium as the weekend drew to a closed.

Poulter and Howie crossed the line, a total of 38-minutes ahead of second place finishers, Taylor and Murphy, who did extremely well to claw their way back into second position.

A further 14-minutes adrift was the pairing of Rautenbach and von Zitzewitz, giving them the final spot on the podium and rounding off a historic moment in Toyota Gazoo Racing history (and of the Toyota factory team preceding it).

Never before had Toyota taken all three spots on the podium at an off-road event and when one considers the harsh conditions, testing terrain and extensive competition, this is quite a momentous feat. Add to this the fact that this was Rautenbach’s first off-road race (having a prior history in rally and WRC), and it is understandable that Toyota would want to celebrate.

Team principal, Glyn Hall, was particularly pleased with the performance of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes, noting that there was a total of 3000 race kilometers raced over the weekend without a single failure to note.

Being this close to the action, seeing the teams work tirelessly and being able to share in their ecstasy as their teams crossed the line first, is something that I am extremely honoured to have been a part of. To see the abuse that the drivers, crews, staff and vehicles go through at such an event, only to emerge victorious is a reminder that not everything comes easy. That a lot of sweat, pain and long hours is needed to accomplish a task of this magnitude. 

 

 

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