01 Jul 2014

Toyota Hilux’s versatile driver, Anthony Taylor and his co-driver Dennis Murphy led a pack of two other Toyota drivers to a podium finish in this year’s edition of the much fancied Toyota 1 000 Desert race on June 29 afternoon.

At the end of an intriguing 1 000km loop over the two days, Taylor and Murphy’s V8 powered Hilux had completed 11 hours 20minutes and 40 seconds just 32 seconds clear of Hilux team mates from Team Castrol Toyota Leeroy Poulter and co-driver Rob Howie.

Privateers Johan and Werner Horn in a Malalane Toyota Hilux continued their dream to their premier Class T career with a third podium finish.

Taylor and Murphy’s victory was their second in a row in Botswana; it took them to the top of the Production Vehicle championship. The race counted for double points with Taylor and Murphy moving clear of Ford Racing crew hopeful Manfred Schroder and Japie Badenhorst, the two crews had been tied at the top of the ladder going into the desert race.

A lot was expected of Schroder who had come in as a perfect replacement for Ford racing crew leader, Chris Visser who was reportedly injured at the Dakar Rally.

Schroder and veteran co-driver Japie Badenhorst and their team mates Gary Bertholdt and Siegfried Rousseau completed the top five. There was a bonus for the latter crew who won the Dakar Challenge for a free entry to the 2014 Dakar Rally.

It was a disappointing race to the Brazilian pair of Reinaldo Varela and Gustavo Guglemin who won the Friday’s time trial to start Saturday’s race on pole position but they lost a lot of time after hitting a tree in the bushes and dropped to the tenth spot when heat one results were posted the same afternoon.

Due to their never say die attitude, the experienced duo put up a good fight the next day and beat the likes of Hennie De Klerk who was seen as a perfect replacement for the retired crowd favourite Hannes Grobler in an RFS BMW X3, to the seventh spot.

In the Special Production category, the father-son pair of Wichard Sullwald and Hermann Sullwald in their Porter Stryker came out tops beating national champion Evan Hutchinson as his BAT Viper sandmaster was reported to have caught fire somewhere near the finish line.

Botswana’s hopes went up in smoke as Team Scoot’s Mogray Mabille experienced power cuts from Friday’s prologue and he did not even make it to the final heat on Sunday. Another local interest, Keith du Toit also failed to reach the final loop as a mechanical fault ruled him out of the race on day one. ENDS