As much as sitting shotgun as an automotive journalist doesn’t necessarily deliver a truly immersive experience, in this scenario, it was the only way to truly appreciate the engineering and prowess of a T1U Dakar challenger.
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There are certain things and experiences in life that money can’t buy and it didn’t take me long to realise this is one of them. Invited as part of a corporate day hosted by key sponsor and tool supplier INGCO, I wasn’t entirely sure what the day would entail. Arriving at a private test facility southeast of Pretoria, the sound of an antilag-equipped petrol V6 began to bellow and make its presence known as I had just entered the gates at the main road. Moving further in, I began to notice plumes of dust emanating from all directions around the final destination listed on the GPS.
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It didn’t take me too long to realise that the SVR Toyota Gazoo Racing creations conceptualised and manufactured in South Africa were strutting their stuff around the facility, and by the sound of it, at full tilt. As a reminder, the model is completely bespoke and founded upon a space frame chassis, with the only components like the door handle and indicator stalk carried over from a standard Hilux.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing truck and trailer were positioned in the shadowy confines near the clubhouse, adjacent to a comprehensive display of INGCO products. Two of the Hiluxes, manned by Henk Lategan and Saood Variawa were doing taxi rides as part of the corporate event.
Each driver was tackling a separate loop, which took under 5 minutes to complete. Saood, a familiar face during my GR Cup weekends courtesy of his antics in the South African Touring Car Corolla, was ready to show me what the other spectrum of motorsport was all about first. This practice loop had by this point been completed several times which I realised was a good thing as I was being strapped in and the helmet connected to the internal comms – I was in the navigator’s seat without a pace book or much knowledge on how to communicate the information… It was time, and my hopes were that each metre of track was engrained into Saood’s memory.
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It was. Getting out of the bivouac, the 19-year-old stopped the car on the dirt track stretch and engaged the guttural launch control system. In a dusty huff, we were away and before I knew it, we had approached the first gate which the T1U violently slowed down for. Perfectly at one with the machine under him, Saood braked later, turned sharper and flicked the car in when my brain was still struggling to get to grips with its agility, it is well over 2-tonnes when running a substantial fuel load. Waist-deep ruts were dispatched with relative ease and airborne moments further demonstrated the incredible durability that these Hiluxes, and other T1U cars, are capable of.
The speed and mental processing required in the cabin are far removed from what is seen from the outside. I am no stranger to watching the Dakar broadcasts on TV, nor am I unfamiliar with watching SARRC events live at spectator points fairly large expanses of space around, but from within the cabin, it couldn’t seem further away from reality despite all of the top shelf gear and suspension used. Arriving back, Saood reaffirmed that that level of concentration and physicality over 5 minutes is required for several hours during a rally raid event.
Back on terra firma, the technicians had to disassemble the subframe to replace a bent bolt which had proven a weak point in the design. In a matter of minutes, with INGCO ratchet spanners and torque ratchets at hand, things were already going back together. This served as another reminder of the team sport, and the level and speed that they worked at too. For those unfamiliar with the Highveld in winter, the dry conditions mean plenty of dust and comically, the team made use of inconspicuous INGCO tools to clear the sand from the bivouac area with either a leaf blower or a cordless vacuum cleaner.
While the house was being put in order, Henk’s passenger seat was dormant. In much the same process, I jumped in and we were off, albeit on a slightly more technical and twisting route adjacent to a small dam. He jokingly added that if we get something wrong we end up in the water, which despite the ice-cold AC wouldn’t have been too problematic for the 3o degree-plus August day. Further in and while driving at what felt like eleven-tenths, Henk proceeded to pick up a conversation we left off at the bivouac and proceeded to give more response, in a calm and collected manner about his preferences of earth moving equipment for projects he does in his spare time.
This was the calm in the insanity that I understood was critical in what keeps a rally driver going for those several hours of rally raid. I got out, knowing my preference in motorsport remains circuit racing, but with continued respect for rally drivers and the hard-hitting durability of their vehicles.
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