Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa trounces the GR Stella 1000 Marathon

Part of the South African Rally Raid 5 round championship includes the GR Stella 1000 Marathon. This serves as an endurance round in the semi-arid conditions of the cattle-farming region of the North West province, 1000 km, 6 stages, and 3 days of gruelling off-road action. Not only do the vehicles have to withstand the tasking conditions, but they also put a strain on drivers and co-drivers. This is the longest and toughest round on the calendar, and it is something exciting to witness as a spectator with the numerous viewing points. Preparation and mechanical reliability will be your best friends here.

Related: The New 9th-generation Toyota Hilux - First Drive Impression

Driver / Co-Driver Line-Up

• Guy Botteril / Henry Köhne (#202)
• Saood Variawa / Charan Moore (#255)
• Sa'aad Variawa / Wade Harris (#200)

The vehicles

The vehicle line-up consists of three GR Hilux IMT Evo bakkies wrapped in the latest black GR livery. These vehicles feature the V35A production engine, found in vehicles like the Land Cruiser 300. It's a twin-turbo V6 engine that, in this configuration, produces 264 kW / 620 Nm, with power sent to all four wheels via a 6-speed SADEV sequential transmission. Suspension-wise, there are double wishbones and 350 mm of travel, while Evo Corsa 17-inch motorsport wheels wrapped with 37 BF Goodrich Tyres provide traction. Finally, an FT3 Safety Cell fuel tank with a capacity of 540 litres. These machines are purpose-built and locally made, too.

How did the event go?

This event proved fruitful for Toyota, with the three GR Hilux IMT Evos finishing within the overall top five and winning the Manufacturer's Award.

Kicking things off on Friday, the team's starting order looked like this.

1. Malcom Kock (313 - Jaco van Aardt)
2. Wors Prinsloo (241 - Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid)
3. Danie Ludick (245 - Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid)
4. Gareth Woolridge (277 - Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid)
5. Guy Botteril (202 - Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa)
6. Jayden Els (298 - Century Racing Factory Team)
7. Sa'aad Variawa (255 - Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa)
8. Fouche Blignaut (239 - #TeamHilux Rally-Raid)
9. Lood Du Preez (399 - Farmers Meat)
10. Phillip Botha (333 - Red-Lined Motorsport)
11. Jan Rose (477 - Arno Oliver)
12. Saood Variawa (200 - Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa)

Botteril / Köhne then set the pace for victory on Friday by posting the fourth-fastest qualifying time, then won the first two stages and took the overnight lead. After the third stage, the Virtual Leaderboard saw Boterill / Köhne leading, Saood / Moore in third and Sa'aad / Harris in fifth, showing strong race pace from the vehicle trio. Things were pretty tough for Botteril / Köhne on Saturday and Sunday, considering they had to open the road, but this didn't deter them, as they brought home the win with a total time of 9 hours, 49 minutes and 53 seconds across the six stages.

This was also the first time Boterill drove with a new navigator, Köhne.

It was a tough few days, leading the way and opening the road throughout. Henry did a fantastic job. Today was super difficult, but we had a flawless run with no mistakes, and it is really special to win TGR’s home event. A thousand kilometres of racing is no joke, especially in this terrain, but we are super happy to stand on the top step of the podium.

Henry was phenomenal. From practice to the first corner, it felt like we’d been together for a long time. We’ve competed against each other for many years, but this was our first event together in the car and it worked fantastically.

- Guy Boterill after the event

Saood / Moore, who are the current championship leaders, were gunning for pole position, being in the top 3 over the course of the weekend. Sunday showed plenty of promise but was unfortunate in the final stages; their charge was disrupted by an incident during the transfer to the final stage. The damage was repairable, and thankfully, nobody was injured; this cost the pair valuable time, leaving them to finish fifth overall.

 We definitely didn’t expect that..... We were pushing from the start and had clawed back most of the gap. We gave it absolutely everything and were really in the zone, but unfortunately, the incident damaged the car quite badly. It wasn’t the way we wanted to finish, but our pace was there all weekend.

- Saood Variawa after the event

Newcomer Sa'aad Variawa entered his second-ever event, and first marathon, showing some incredible pace, with Wade Harris finishing Fourth overall. Despite some navigation challenges early in the event, the pair sadly suffered front-end damage after a rock struck the Hilux. Nonetheless, the pair soldiered on.

Not too bad overall. We had a few navigation issues early on and then damaged the front of the car after hitting a big rock, which made it difficult to turn left properly. After that, it was about bringing the car home. It wasn’t the result we were capable of, but we finished the thousand-kilometre race and got all the mileage we needed. We’ll take the experience and move on to the next event.

- Sa'aad Variawa after the event

Closing words

The GR 1000 Stella Marathon was not only a tricky and challenging event, but also a home event for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa. The Driver/Co-Driver line-up, along with the vehicles, showcased the team's strong performance across mechanics, engineers, and drivers. 

Winning your home event has often proven to be a tricky prospect, but I am delighted that Guy and Henry were able to secure victory at the GR Stella 1000 Marathon

- Glen Crompton, VP of Marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors

From a spectator's point of view, the event was a spectacle to behold. To hear these purpose-built machines shout over the hills and witness the precision and skill the drivers displayed on the rough stuff was not only a treat for my camera to capture, but also a great way to drum up excitement for the crowds. Rally fans, old and young, came in numbers, and it's great to see spectator support towards the championship.