Czech It Out: Škoda’s New Rally Automobile Looks Supremely Poor-Ass

We don’t cover the VW Group’s Czech brand, Škoda, round these parts considerably, but a bitchin’ rally vehicle seems as good a cause as any. (So was this innovative industrial.) Meet the Škoda Fabia R 5, which has been below improvement for the previous 15 months but was just authorized by the FIA for worldwide competitors. We’re seriously digging on the funky, teardrop wheel wells the cantilevered wing out back and the hyper-chiseled bodywork. Also: roof snorkel!

A 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder makes somewhere north of 265 horsepower its predecessor, the Fabia Super 2000, created 275. Output is routed through a 5-speed sequential transmission and on to all 4 wheels. Suspension is by struts all around. Minimum weight per FIA regulations is 2711 pounds, and the car is said to BWAAA! BWAAA! most righteously on asphalt, ice, gravel, snow, or dirt.

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Czech It Out: Škoda’s New Rally Automobile Looks Supremely Poor-Ass

Toyota Finalizing Buyer Rally Version of GT86 (That’s the Scion FR-S to You)

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has been functioning on a rally kit for the GT86 (that’s the Scion FR-S for us North Americans) for a very good extended even though. For clients, the wait for the so-called CS-R3 has most likely been both gratifying—TMG wants to get the auto dialed in, right after all—and frustrating. It’s challenging cooling your heels for months while waiting to acquire the €79,000 kit when you currently know what the finished product will entail.

Of course, it appears great. The GT86 and its FR-S and Subaru BRZ siblings are great road-course cars, but a rally version could propel them into the realm of legend, and it recalls the rear-drive Toyota Celicas of the early 1980s that dominated rallies prior to AWD became the norm. Rear-drive rally cars may well not be competitive at the highest tiers of of the sport, but they’re enjoyable to watch and cheap to run.

What does the kit entail? Costing $ 89,700 or so at today’s exchange rate—that’s a $ 5700 discount over complete retail!—you can expect to receive a body shell, an engine, a 6-speed sequential transmission, a limited-slip differential, subframes, a full suspension, a steering technique, cockpit instrumentation, wiring, and a cage. It’s perhaps also useful to know what it doesn’t incorporate: seats, security harnesses, fire suppression, battery, tools, rally computer, wheels, tires, or mud flaps—although these are all items teams almost certainly want to customize to their specific builds.

This close to-turnkey race automobile is eligible for FIA R3 competition, and it will give owners the satisfaction of wheeling a appropriate rear-drive coupe in a class primarily intended for front-wheel drive cars. TMG expects to begin delivering client automobiles in Could of this year.

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A version of this story initially appeared on roadandtrack.com.

Toyota Finalizing Buyer Rally Version of GT86 (That’s the Scion FR-S to You)

Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar Team ready for 2015 Dakar Rally

For motorsport enthusiasts the month of January is synonymous with only one thing: The Dakar Rally. The 2015 race promises to live up to the legend created by the 35 previous editions of what has become one of our planet’;s most iconic motorsport events. As in 2012, 2013 and 2014, the Imperial Toyota South Africa Dakar Team will be there for the start, fielding the best race Toyota Hilux yet.

“We are very pleased with the latest evolution of our proven Toyota Hilux Dakar bakkie,” says Team Principal Glyn Hall. “This is the third generation of the vehicle which came third in its first year on the Dakar. And most importantly, the drivers are just as happy with it as I am.”

The driver line-up for 2015 is unchanged from the last Dakar: Giniel de Villiers, who won the event in 2009, will again spearhead Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar Team’;s attack. This will be De Villiers’; 12th year of participation in the rally. Beside him in the car is long-time navigator Dirk von Zitzewitz (Germany), who is himself a veteran of 14 Dakar Rallies.

Leeroy Poulter and navigator Rob Howie will again be in action in the second Toyota Imperial Hilux. The pair made their mark early in the 2014 race when they set the third-fastest time on Stage 3, finishing in 33rd position overall after the 13 stages that made up the race.

The new Toyota Imperial Hilux is issentially an evolution rather than a complete redesign. As such it has built on the strengths of the preceeding versions, though visually the 2015 vehicle may represent the biggest change yet.

Immediately evident is that the spare wheels have been relocated from the back of the car. One wheel now fits under the cockpit, with one each mounted on the sides behind the doors. This has shifted the significant mass (120 kg) of the wheels to an area within the axles, and also lowered the center of gravity as a result.

“You can really feel a massive difference,” says Dakar veteran Giniel de Villiers of the new layout. “The new bakkie is much faster through twisty sections, and we’;ve also worked a lot on the suspension to make it land better after jumps.”

The change in layout came largely thanks to new regulations, which allow the Toyota Imperial Hilux to be 60 kg lighter than before. In order to fully capitalise on this reduction in weight, the team decided to also maximise weight distribution for better handling and balance.

In addition to the weight saving, the regulations now also allow for a slightly larger air restrictor. This was done in an effort to level the playing field for the various different engine types that essentially compete in the same class – notably the turbo diesels that suffer less at high altitudes and in thick sand than the normally aspirated petrol engines, such as the motor used in the Toyota Imperial Hilux, do.

At the same time, the new Imperial Toyota Hilux features a fully South African-developed suspension system, a new air conditioning system and many other refinements to the original race bakkie.

All of this will be put to the test when Dakar 2015 gets under way in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 4 January 2015. Next year’;s route consists of a trans-continental loop, which visits Chile and Bolivia, before returning to Argentina for the finish back in Buenos Aires on 17 January.

The Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar Team will not be the only team fielding South African-developed Toyota Hilux race vehicles. As in the past, the South African team will receive logistical and infrastructure support from Belgian outfit Team Overdrive on the event. Team Overdrive also support a host of other Toyota Hilux competitors, including accomplished drivers such as Lucio Alvarez (Argentina), Bernhard 10 Brinke (Netherlands) and Yazeed Alrajhi (Saudi Arabia).

The 2 South African Toyota Hilux race vehicles depart for Argentina on 15 December, and will again be transported by SAA Cargo. South African Dakar fans can follow the fortunes of the Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar Team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/toyotasouthafrica and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/toyotasa.

Toyota Motorsport South Africa Acknowledges Its Dakar Sponsors, Specialist Official Suppliers and Technical Partners:

Hallspeed, TFM, Castrol, SKF, Spanjaard, Robor, 4×4 Megaworld, NGK, Donaldson, Mastercraft, Sat4Rent, Oakley, Edgecam, Supreme Springs, FreeM, Bosch, Smiths Manufacturing and Shatterprufe. Also Duxbury Netgear, Innovation, Toyota Financial Services, SAA Cargo, Toyota and Imperial Toyota.

Toyota Imperial South Africa Dakar Team ready for 2015 Dakar Rally

VIDEO: These Rally Spectators Are Lucky to Be Alive—and Unhurt

October 7, 2014 at 10:05 am by Alex Nunez | Photography by MF my video by means of YouTube

Rally fans’ thirst to be as close to the action as feasible ensures a visceral spectator expertise, but exposes them to intense danger when issues go wrong. This is absolutely nothing new, mind you. If anything, it was far worse in the Group B era, where the cars had been at their most effective and the fans seemingly at their most reckless.

Understanding that fans choose dumb viewing spots doesn’t make it any significantly less jarring when things jump ugly, nonetheless, and that’s exactly what occurred over the weekend at the Jolly Rally in Italy’s Aosta Valley. The Clio Super 1600 you’re about to watch is manned by driver Piero Scavone and navigator Diego D’Hérin. And those fans . . . nicely, they’re about to be more involved than they ever anticipated:

[embedded content material]

Miraculously, no 1 was hurt, even though a single of the girls who had the automobile fly overhead apparently (and understandably) fainted. Scavone and D’Hérin were taken to the hospital for tests but are reportedly okay, based on Italian media reports. And those spectators? All are most likely underwear buying as we speak.

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Select your vantage points wisely, rally fans.

This story initially appeared on roadandtrack.com

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VIDEO: These Rally Spectators Are Lucky to Be Alive—and Unhurt

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Mongolia Rally

The Hino 500-Series truck, with part-time 4-wheel drive, entered in the recent Mongolia Rally by Hino Team Sugawara put up another amazing performance by finishing 6th overall in this cross-country race out of an original field of 76 motorcycles and 4-wheel vehicles.

This was the 20^th running of the Mongolia Rally and it attracted an entry of 53 motorcycles and 23 4-wheel vehicles, with 42 finishers still running at the end of the week-long event, made up of 29 motorcycles and 13 4-wheelers.

The Mongolia Rally took competitors over a route of 3 800km which included sections through the Gobi Desert. The timed special stages totalled 3 218km, with the longest section covered in one day being 569km.

The only vehicles to finish ahead of the Hino, crewed by Teruhito Sugawara and Hiroyuki Sugiura, were 2 Toyota FJ Cruisers, an Oscar Buggy, a Toyota Tacoma pick-up and 2 KTM 450 motorcycles.

The participation of Team Hino Sugawara in the Mongolia Rally was used as part of the team’s intensive preparation programme for the 2015 Dakar Rally. This was the fifth year that Hino has used this event in Mongolia to test new developments for its racing trucks and on each occasion it has been a top-10 finisher, with a highest placing of fifth overall in 2010 and 2013.

This year the team’s focus was on testing suspension developments in Mongolia. A new system has been developed to improve traction over loose and uneven surfaces and the team was delighted with the results.

“The rally was very tough, with a 450km special stage on the first day,” explained driver Teruhito Sugawara. “The suspension was simply out-of-this-world amazing! Concerns about the reliability and durability of the new suspensions turned out to be a non-issue.

“ We will be running a larger, 9-litre engine developing 600 horsepower, in the 2015 Dakar Rally and besides aiming to continue our run of victories in the class for trucks with engines under 10-litres capacity we are confident we can aim for a high placing overall next year too.”

Hino Team Sugawara has also released the names of 4 technicians from Hino dealerships in Japan who will be joining the 2-truck team for the 2015 Dakar Rally in South America. This is an ongoing programme to involve the dealers and to increase the skill levels of their technicians as they compete for the honour of being part of this team which is renowned for its excellent reliability record in this famous, annual cross-country event.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Amazing performance by Hino truck on Mongolia Rally

Imperial Toyota puts its weight behind Cullinan Rally – Round 5 of the SA National Rally Championship

Imperial Toyota today announced its financial support of the Cullinan Rally, round 5 of the South African National Rally Championship. The event, which takes place on August 15 and 16, 2014, will again feature spectacular rally stages in and around the town of Cullinan, Northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng.

“When we heard that the event was without a sponsor, we decided increase our support of the National Rally Championship (NRC),” said Imperial Toyota Managing Director Andrew Miller.

Without Imperial Toyota’;s support, the Cullinan Rally was in danger of becoming a drearyaffair, rather than the spectacular event it now promises to be. With 2 completely new stages for 2014, as well as the involvement of the Northern Regions regional championship on both days of the event, the Cullinan Rally promises to be a spectator’;s delight thanks to the support from Imperial Toyota.

“As it stands we already support Giniel de Villiers and Greg Godrich, in the Imperial Toyota Yaris S2000,” continued Miller. “The car is prepared by Glyn Hall of Toyota Motorsport South Africa, and has shown a lot of promise in 2014. As such we feel very much a part of the NRC, and our support of the Cullinan Rally feels like a natural extension of our involvement.”

Imperial Toyota has a proud history of motorsport involvement, and firmly believes in the mantra “what wins on Sunday, sells on Monday”. As such the company has utilised motorsport to grow their own brand, as well as that of Toyota, for more than a quarter of a century. It started in the Production Car era, when Imperial Toyota sponsored a highly competitive Class B Toyota Corolla, and continues to this day with its sponsorship of the Imperial Team Toyota Dakar entry campaigned by 2010 Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers.

The company has dealerships in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape; and is part of the Imperial Automotive Retail group, which in turn forms part of the listed Imperial Group.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Imperial Toyota puts its weight behind Cullinan Rally – Round 5 of the SA National Rally Championship

Imperial Toyota puts its weight behind Cullinan Rally – Round 5 of the SA National Rally Championship

Imperial Toyota today announced its financial support of the Cullinan Rally, round 5 of the South African National Rally Championship. The event, which takes place on August 15 and 16, 2014, will again feature spectacular rally stages in and around the town of Cullinan, Northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng.

“When we heard that the event was without a sponsor, we decided increase our support of the National Rally Championship (NRC),” said Imperial Toyota Managing Director Andrew Miller.

Without Imperial Toyota’;s support, the Cullinan Rally was in danger of becoming a drearyaffair, rather than the spectacular event it now promises to be. With 2 completely new stages for 2014, as well as the involvement of the Northern Regions regional championship on both days of the event, the Cullinan Rally promises to be a spectator’;s delight thanks to the support from Imperial Toyota.

“As it stands we already support Giniel de Villiers and Greg Godrich, in the Imperial Toyota Yaris S2000,” continued Miller. “The car is prepared by Glyn Hall of Toyota Motorsport South Africa, and has shown a lot of promise in 2014. As such we feel very much a part of the NRC, and our support of the Cullinan Rally feels like a natural extension of our involvement.”

Imperial Toyota has a proud history of motorsport involvement, and firmly believes in the mantra “what wins on Sunday, sells on Monday”. As such the company has utilised motorsport to grow their own brand, as well as that of Toyota, for more than a quarter of a century. It started in the Production Car era, when Imperial Toyota sponsored a highly competitive Class B Toyota Corolla, and continues to this day with its sponsorship of the Imperial Team Toyota Dakar entry campaigned by 2010 Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers.

The company has dealerships in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape; and is part of the Imperial Automotive Retail group, which in turn forms part of the listed Imperial Group.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Imperial Toyota puts its weight behind Cullinan Rally – Round 5 of the SA National Rally Championship

Volkswagen Rally brings international flavour and local legends

The Volkswagen Rally, which starts at AutoPavilion on Friday and finishes at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, 11 and 12 July, will see amongst the national and local entries 2 international entries from the Volkswagen Sasolracing team. Regular national rally competitors Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt from Holland and Belgium will be joined by Raimund Baumschlager and his navigator, Klaus Wicha, from Austria and Germany.

Weijs and Degandt currently lie 4th in the national standings with Weijs particularly keen to experience the challenging stages of the Longmore Forest.

To keep the rally fans entertained and informed, 2 South African automotive legends will join forces. Regarded by many as the voice of South African motoring, Roger McCleery will commentate on the action of the Volkswagen Rally with none other than motorsport legend Sarel van der Merwe on hand to provide both a first-hand perspective and some anecdotes from his own time behind the wheel.

McCleery’;s voice is instantly recognisable from his long tenure on South African radio, covering the motoring industry and motorsport fans have long held Van der Merwe to be one of the best motorsport talents this country has ever seen – whether in the dirt or on the track.

The pair will be commentating on the Volkswagen Rally from a variety of spectator points during the event and their mix of automotive knowledge and history should provide a highly entertaining addition to the event this year.

With the rally starting at AutoPavilion, stages taking place in Port Elizabeth and Jeffrey’;s Bay and finishing at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, the combination of local rally competitors from the Algoa Rally Club (the organising club), the field of national rally competitors, the 2 international teams competing here and 2 SA automotive personalities, there is much for motorsport fans to look forward to, with something to keep everyone entertained.

The Volkswagen Rally spectator guide will be available in 2 daily newspapers on Thursday, 10 July, in the Eastern Cape and will also be made available online. Visit the Volkswagen Motorsport (Volkswagen Motorsport_za) Facebook page, follow the Twitter account @VWMotorsport_za and the website http://www.algoarallyclub.co.za/ for rally information.

Also view:

Safe Driving on Gravel Roads

Volkswagen Rally brings international flavour and local legends