Toyota Storms On

If the opening round of the 2018 South African Cross Country Series was tough, round two, held in KwaZulu-Natal, was even tougherer (to borrow that familiar marketing phrase). But it was a familiar Toyota Hilux that landed up on the top step of the overall and Class FIA podium, and a familiar Ford Ranger on the top step of the Class T segment.

THE Battlefields 400 route, based around the town of Dundee, was wet. So wet, in fact, that some spectators suggested a speedboat, rather than a 4×4, would stand a better chance of conquering the conditions.

And although many competitors came undone in the wet, muddy conditions, at the front of the field it was business as usual for Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy, in the Toyota Hilux V8. The pair won the Friday’s prologue race, so led the field out on race day.

The defending champions had no mechanical issues in the actual race, and stopped only once to change a wheel. New Toyota factory driver Henk Lategan, partnered by Barry White for this event, had a far more eventful outing.

After finishing third in the prologue, just over a minute slower than De Villiers/ Murphy, things were looking good for the young Lategan. But two punctures on the first loop of the race saw the second Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux V8 drop down the leaderboard.