Engineer triumphs at Toyota Fortuner Challenge thanks to strong teamwork

The eighth edition of the popular Toyota Fortuner Challenge concluded in the Western Cape after two days of gruelling competition that would see one winner walk away with a brand-new Toyota Fortuner. 

In this annual fitness contest, four challengers — each representing a different media partner — are randomly teamed up with a South African sporting hero before taking on a series of 4x4 obstacle challenges, speed and endurance tests and brainteasers.

This year's teams included: 

• Challenger Jeandri Janse van Rensburg and Cheetahs ruby player Teboho Stephen “Oupa” Mohojé;
• Challenger Jan Withaar and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Dakar ace Giniel de Villiers;
• Challenger Daniel Lombard and professional cyclist Sam Sanders; and
• Challenger Marcus Gunton and judoka Geronay Whitebooi, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

The bulk of the 2023 event was set in the Stellenbosch wine lands at the beautiful Blaauwklippen Wine Estate, which is the home of Specialized, one of the event's sponsors. Like last year, temperatures soared, making the various challenges even tougher under the Cape's scorching sun.

Ultimately, it was Withaar and De Villiers’ combination of brawn, brain and passion that lead them to victory.

Withaar, who is a master cyclist and engineer by profession, was overwhelmed by the win. “I could not have done this without my partner Giniel, who handled ever task with patience and methodical skill,” he says. “This is someone I see on TV, a legendary champion, and to have been in his presence was the true prize I will never forget.”

Along with the impressive grand prize of a brand-new Toyota Fortuner, Withaar also walked away with a R15,000 Total fuel voucher, Garmin watch, Specialized bike, Salomon active gear hamper and Thule roof rack.

Here's a recap of how this triumphant team's journey to the top played out:

Day 1

The first challenge put the teams' brains and brawn to the test. Challengers had to hold a 10kg iron bar, while their sporting hero partner was given a set of mathematical equations to solve. Once the hero had solved an equation, they could pick from a selection of weights to add on to one of their competitors' bars, or remove weights previously added to their partner's bar by another team. The longest equation meant they could pick the heaviest weights, while the shorter equations limited the selection to the least heavy.

First to solve an equation was De Villiers, who promptly added the heaviest 10kg weights on to Sanders' partner, Lombard's bar. Whitebooi seemed to struggle for a while, but later managed to take a load off her partner, Gunton's bar.

Meanwhile, De Villiers had added another 20kg of weights to Lombard, concluding his equations ahead of the rest. Lombard struggled to hold up the hefty weights and give in. Sanders said that, on a good day, her maths skills are not great, so this definitely added extra pressure to her teammate.

Once time was up, points were secretly tallied and it was on to the next challenge.

For the second challenge, both members of each team had to balance a tennis ball on a circular board anchored to a wooden post by a pair of ropes. Holding a rope in each hand, they would have to move back a step every 10 seconds, extending their distance from the ball, while making sure it didn't fall off the board. 

De Villiers once again triumphed in this challenge, racking up the most points, followed by his partner Withaar. 

Next, competitors were tethered by a bungee cord to a pole and had to fight its resistance to move weighted balls from inside a demarcated area to outside the area. This proved physically draining, but teams were able to show off their physical stamina.

The next challenge injected some humour into the day's proceedings, generating chuckles from spectators. A team member was blindfolded before getting into a huge transparent zorb ball; their partner then had to shout out directions in an effort to guide them towards a scorekeeper, who would pose a question they had to get right to complete the task. As expected, there was a lot of falling and bumping into each other.

Teams then climbed into a Fortuner and had to put together a puzzle as it was reversed up a Toyota Urban Trax offroad ramp, before completing a tricky timed tyre-changing challenge.

Outspoken and spirited Mahoje and Janse van Rensburg were the team that displayed the best chemistry, urging and cheering each other on through all the day's challenges.

Day two

The second day kicked off with a cycling and running relay challenge. The challenger had to cycle 400m before tagging the hero, who would run uphill to answer a Toyota Fortuner-related question. If they got the answer correct, they'd be rewarded with a tennis ball before running back to their partner. This process was repeated until the team had successfully collected four balls.

Whitebooi, who is small in stature, powered through sprinting up the hill as the spectators cheered in admiration. Lombard and Sanders gave a solid performance, redeeming themselves from the previous day. Withaar and De Villers' strategy of staying calm and concentrating on the task at hand continued to work well and they once again smashed the challenge.

The teams' endurance would continue to be tested as they did a sink-or-swim challenge. They had to paddle across a lake on a paddle board before trying to find a hidden landmark using Garmin smartwatches to locate the co-ordinates. After paddling back across the lake, they had to answer a question before getting back in the water and circling about different coloured buoys in the order instructed. This proved an exhausting task that pushed the teams to the limits.

Patience, strategy and teamwork were the only way to succeed in the final challenge. Using rope to manoeuvre it, teams had to try to get a small ball through the hole at the top of a vertical board topped with a cut-out Toyota logo. Each time the ball fell, one team member would need to cycle around a course to retrieve it and return to try again. This challenge had everyone on their toes, with spectators watching anxiously as teams continuously struggled.

First to finish were Mahoje and Janse van Rensburg, who communicated well throughout the whole challenge. 

With all the challenges done, the teams and spectators freshened up, while the judges tallied up the scores before declaring team Withaar-De Villiers the ultimate winner.

This article was sponsored by Toyota.