It was, however, the Dakar Rally expert Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dennis Murphy who came out tops with their Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux to conquer the demanding Botswana desert for the second consecutive year.
A victory for De Villiers/Murphy also ensured that Toyota continued their winning streak at this iconic event with a seventh straight win, while De Villiers/Murphy claimed their hat-trick of wins this season.
Another bonus was a 1-2-3 for Toyota in the Production Vehicle Category while they also walked away with the laurels in the FIA Class, Class T, Class S and the Manufacturer’s award.
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The team opened the road on Saturday after winning the qualifying race on Friday and were the second vehicle on the road for the final racing section on Sunday, just behind their teammates, Henk Lategan/Barry White.
A puncture 30 kilometres from the service point after the first of the two 212-kilometre loops did not hold them back and they walked away with the overall win as well as the FIA Class victory.
Behind De Villiers/Murphy, Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) claimed the Class T victory after a problem-free race. They opened the road on Friday and were the first vehicle to tackle the qualifying race while they finished Heat 1 on Saturday only 35 seconds behind the Class T leaders, Lance Woolridge/Ward Huxtable (NWM Ford Ranger).
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The Ford team, however, did not finish on the final day due to the transfer case failing on their Ford Ranger 29km into the final loop.
After finishing the first heat on Saturday in eighth place in the Production Vehicle category, Gary Bertholdt/Geoff Minnitt (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux) clawed their way up the leader board to finish second in Class T and third overall.
The Class S victory went to Heinie Strumpher/Henri Hugo (Toyota Hilux) who led the class by posting the fastest qualifying time on Friday.
They were 10th overall after Saturday’s racing section and a class win in both heats and final fifth place overall earned them a healthy number of points, making their TDR 1000 experience worthwhile.
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The winner of the Rookie Class on the 2018 Dakar Rally, Hennie de Klerk, has not raced since his participation in South America in January. He teamed up with Japie Badenhorst (Treasury One VW Amarok) for the TDR 1000.
After four punctures on Saturday and commenting that the TDR 1000 is tougher than the Dakar Rally, they persevered on Sunday and were happy with their ninth place overall and fourth in Class T.
Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (NWM Ford Ranger) were fifth on Saturday, but lost time when they ran out of fuel about 10km before DSP on the final day. They finished the race in 10th place and fifth in Class T.
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The second heat proved to be much better than Saturday for the Dutch pair of Maik Willems/Rob van Pelt (Red-Lined Motorsport Nissan Navara), who claimed the fourth place in the FIA Class.
The 27th running of the distinguished Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race under the Toyota banner, regarded as the toughest cross-country event in southern Africa, tested competitors over 1 000km and those who survived, were rewarded with well-earned points towards the various championships.
