Team Toyota Makes It A Hat-trick

The Castrol Toyota Team continued their dominance in the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race this past weekend with Anthony Taylor and navigator Dennis Murphy successfully retaining their crown and making it a hat-trick of wins.

In second position was Gary Bertholdt and Siegfried Rousseau in a Ford Ranger while Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie joined the podium with third position in another Toyota Hilux.

Following in the footsteps of Taylor/Murphy was Heinie Strumpher and Henri Hugo in the Toyota Hilux who triumphed in the Class S, for vehicles with engines of four litres and solid read axles. The duo was followed by Deon Venter and Jaco van Aardt, also in a Toyota Hilux. These results saw Toyota taking home the manufacturer's award. The race dubbed “Southern Africa's toughest motorsport event” was not without drama.

In as early as first five kilometres, for Poulter/Howie - the day turned into a flat out race, despite being handicapped by three-wheel braking during the first loop of the day and a damaged clutch, which also resulted from the broken brake caliper that instantly jammed the wheel of the Hilux. This opened a loophole for Taylor/Murphy to take the lead to the chequered flag. The duo was nevertheless satisfied with the result they got despite the stunt. "Even so the Hilux ran extremely well, and we managed to catch up with some of the slower cars ahead of us," said Poulter after the finish. "But it was heart breaking to start the day with a lead, only to lose it in the first 5 km." Trouble also haunted the Ford team with Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer who were dealt a blow by a broken rear driveshaft around 20 km into the loop, forcing them to stop and remove the damaged shaft. Shortly after they had returned to the race the front-wheel drive, also experienced the right-front driveshaft break. Lady luck didn't go the way of the second Ford as their Ranger suffered a broken rear wheel hub on the second loop.

The team had to make temporary repairs and limped 80km back to the pits with just a just single bolt holding the hub on. The Donaldson Cross-Country Championship continues with round four of six – the Malalane 450 - which will take place in early August.

-IgnitionLIVE Reporter

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