2019 Toyota 1000 Desert Race for the tough

The dense bushveld conditions saw competitor vehicles suffer from everything from wheel punctures to bent suspension arms to crushed exhaust pipes. One of the biggest contributing factors to the difficulty of navigating the terrain was the tree stumps.

Team-mates Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer finished the weekend with two second-place finishes in their Ford Castrol Cross Country, Ford Rangers securing maximum double-points and extended their advantage at the top of the championship points table. It was Chris Visser and navigator Phillip Herselman in the Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux who took the top class.

“What a race! Everything just felt right, and even though we had our fair share of challenges along the way, we managed to stay out of trouble and bring the Toyota Hilux home in the first place.” Chris Visser

While qualifying close to the top, Toyota Gazoo Racing SA crew De Villiers/Murphy had the first bit of bad luck, hitting a tree stump and damaging the Toyota Hilux race car. Lategan/Cummings piloting another factory Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux, soon met the same fate.

“It was very disappointing for us, the car felt good, and we really pushed hard from the start. Unfortunately, we damaged the car after hitting a tree stump in sixth gear and lost a lot of time repairing the car. Of course, we would’ve wanted to be on the podium, but the reality of racing is that you don’t always have things your way…” Giniel De Villiers

However, the Castrol-liveried Ford Rangers earn Class T podiums with the combined results of the Friday and Saturday first heat. Sunday’s second heat took place a new loop and was reduced to 189km instead of 220km due to time constraints. Incident-free laps meant that Lance and Ward took their fourth consecutive win for the 2019 season of the Class T championship.

The next race is due in the first week of August 2019 at the Bronkhorstspruit 400.