Team Toyota Garborone 1000 Saturday summary

MIXED BAG FOR TOYOTA TEAM ON TOYOTA 1000 DESERT RACE

It was another mixed bag for Toyota teams on the first racing section on the Toyota 1000 Desert Race, round three of the Absa Off Road Championship, in Gaborone today.

At the end of the opening 500 kilometres Mark Cronje and Chris Birkin (Castrol Toyota Hilux) were second in the Super Production Class after making up two places on a gruelling day. Cronje and Birkin were around eight minutes behind Nissan Navara crew Hannes Grobler and Francois Jordaan.

Bevan Bertholdt and Robin Houghton, in a second Castrol Toyota Hilux had another disappointing day. After starting from the back of the field after failing to finish the prologue on Friday, the pair were working their way through the field when they hit a tree.

"We damaged the axle and from 14th place dropped back to around 35th," said Bertholdt. "It could be worse and we'll fight to the finish."

Class D saw Toyota entries in the first two places. Cliff and Louis Weichelt (Bosal Toyota Hilux) led Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst (Tyco Trucks Toyota Hilux) with Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn (Castrol Toyota Hilux) in fourth place overnight.

Down in Class E Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux (Toyota Hilux) were in second place with George and Sharon Barkhuizen (Ruwacon Toyota Hilux) and Mark and Stuart Moffat (Bosal Toyota Hilux) in third and fourth.

Fabio Tafani and Mike Baron, in the Club Refrigeration Toyota Hilux, were fifth. On the debit side, however, Brian Martin and Ockie Fourie (Castrol Toyota Hilux) battled throughout the day with mechanical problems and were way down the pecking order.

The race restarts in Gaborone at 17h30 tomorrow and finishes at Game City, back in the Botswana capital, tomorrow afternoon.

-TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA.