Leaders after stage 1 with another string of stage wins towards the end of two relentless weeks of racing, Toyota Gazoo Racing continued to assert its legendary consistency and reliability by taking second and third at this year&rsquo;s Dakar &ndash; the world&rsquo;s toughest off-road rally raid. Characterised by inhospitable climates, over a thousand kilometres of timed racing, obscure navigation waypoints and severely punished mistakes, Dakar sees months of testing and development enter a high-pressure cauldron with an alarming rate of attrition for all competitors. Only the very best make it to the finish.For Toyota the annual race represents a synergy to prove Hilux&rsquo;s credibility as the world&rsquo;s toughest bakkie with a motorsport stamp for South America&rsquo;s proving grounds: the highest sand dunes in the world, washed-away ravines, narrow canyons and fesh-fesh &ndash; a light powdery dust that shrouds the road ahead often causing catastrophic high-speed accidents. March 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the indomitable Hilux, a bakkie that outsells its competition in South Africa nearly every month. And while Toyota has its roots in Japan, the Dakar Hilux carries a very colourful South African presence. For it is here, a workshop in Kyalami to be precise, where each racing Hilux is developed and prepared.The Dakar Hilux bears strongly to the original 4x4 production version on the outside but every conceivable gain in performance has been unboxed within the rules. There&rsquo;s a Lexus-derived V8 under the bonnet, suspension travel soaks up boulders and cushions the landings and unnecessary weight cleaved from its body to meet the minimum weight target while still offering driver protection.With an experienced driver and navigator line-up consisting of past winners and armed with the fastest evolution of Hilux ever built, the competition was right to be worried. In the build-up to Dakar, the Toyota Hilux had dominated earlier rally events &ndash; success that would not have gone unnoticed by Peugeot and MINI. But speed alone never wins Dakar and even the best preparation can still end up in disappointment. Toyota applied the early pressure by winning the first stage. By the end of day 4 the Hiluxes were running impeccably near the front in what was establishing itself as the hardest Dakar since being hosted in South America. At the halfway point a series of small misfortunes delayed the front-running Hiluxes but at the same time two of the Peugeots dropped well behind due to an accident and difficulty in the dunes. The locally-built bakkies were forcing bigger-budget rival teams into mistakes with flawless performances that threatened to deny Peugeot a final victory. Peugeot&rsquo;s tactics turned defensive, using the other cars as support for its lead driver while Toyota closed in with every car that started the race still within a shot of victory.The rest of the race, beneath the contrast of tactics, was a fascinating game of cat and mouse with Toyota drivers taking turns to attack the leading Peugeot in the vestiges of those tense kilometres. In the end though Carlos Sainz driving the 3008 Peugeot drew on years of experience, content to shadow his rivals and control the bleeding of time as Peugeot bowed out of competition on a high. The South African Hiluxes endeared themselves to a new group of fans &ndash; something of an underdog tag that elevated a little corner of South Africa&rsquo;s motorsport inner circle to the world&rsquo;s biggest off road fraternity. Next year they will return to Dakar as favourites, recognised as the team everyone will want to drive for. The world&rsquo;s fastest Hiluxes will roar into life again, zig-zagging in SA&rsquo;s National Off-road championships, emboldened by last year&rsquo;s result and in search of that first Dakar victory.

Pride, Passion And Podiums

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