Horn brothers take top spots in Desert Race
Rally stars Johan and Werner Horn raced their way to a T-Class victory and overall second place in the Toyota 1000 Desert Race over the weekend.
The Toyota 1000 Desert Race took place in Jwaneng in Botswana over the weekend and is said to be the most challenging event on the South African Cross-country Championship Series (SACCS) calendar.
It consists of two loops amounting to 1 000km of desert sand and bushy terrain.
The Johan and Werner Horn in the Malalane Toyota Hilux drew the number one spot in the prologue for qualifiers on Friday. Opening the qualifying round is a difficult position to be in as a lot of the route is considered no-man’s land and hasn’t been driven through before.
You are the first vehicle to open the route. This alone affects your time and makes the navigation particularly challenging.
The Horn Brothers finished the day in 12th position, a far cry from where they are used to, and spent most of the night out in the freezing cold with the Malalane Toyota Racing Team technicians removing the gearbox of the Malalane Toyota Hilux to repair an oil leak.
After starting Saturday in 12th position, Johan and Werner fought tooth and nail to lead the pack for all classes in the first loop.
However, 80km into the second loop the brothers experienced complications with the propshaft, which caused a vibration in the Hilux. This forced the Horn brothers to have to slow down and nurse the Hilux back home.
This complication saw them lose their overall lead, however, they still somehow managed to secure third position in Class T.
READ: Horns race to fifth place in muddy Mpumalanga 400
The Malalane Toyota Racing Team once again worked throughout the night, unfortunately having to basically rebuild the Toyota. In a matter of hours, the team replaced all of the body panels of the Hilux: the lights, windscreen as well as the bush protection bars. The team also had to recondition the brakes. Despite all this, the Malalane Toyota Hilux was race ready for the final day on Sunday.
Day 3 saw Malalane Toyota start off in sixth position overall. Things were looking good for the brothers, finishing the first loop in overall third position. On the second loop the Horn Brothers managed to pass Toyota Gazoo SA’s Henk Lategan into second position overall. Unfortunately Henk suffered a broken gear box, taking him out of the race.
READ: Horn brothers are the SA Cross Country Series Class T Champions
The Horn Brothers at this point were head to head with Giniel de Villiers for the overall win but suffered a fuel pump issue 20km before the finish line and had to nurse their vehicle back home once again.
This time settling for second position overall and for a very well-fought-for victory in Class T. The next round of the SACCS, the Bronkhorstspruit 400, will be taking place in Bronkhorstspruit on August 3 and 4.
