25 Jun 2023

South Africans Gareth Woolridge and his brother Lance of Team Ford have grabbed the first two podium positions, taking position one and two respectively in the production vehicles at the Toyota Gazoo 1000 Kalahari Desert Race.

The Woolridge brothers were doing a 1000km loop.

The race, which kick-started on Saturday, saw team Hilux getting a chance to start first, as they were the defending champions.

They however failed to cement their authority and defend their title.

In the previous editions of the desert race, team Ford had finished second, behind Team Toyota.

However, the return of the race to Botswana has proved to be their lucky charm as the tables have turned in their favour, seeing them claim the crown.

Gareth, a seasoned driver, was the first to cross the finishing line, after going through a smooth sail since Saturday morning.

As for Lance, paired with the experienced navigator, Kenny Gilbert, had an equally beautiful race and managed to claim second spot.

The Woolridge brothers were closely followed on third position by Guy Botereil of Team Toyota.

One could tell that the trial was not at all easy to traverse the story his car told when it crossed the finish line with a shattered wind screen.

One of the seasoned Toyota Desert Race drivers, Giniel de Villiers, did not have it easy either though Team Toyota were banking on his vast experience.

de Villiers, whose experience extends to partaking in the Dakar Rally, did his utmost best and finished in position four.

Joseph Khengere from Botswana Motorsport said the race favoured the winners because their vehicles were much faster and easily picked speeds, , saying the terrain was ideal for their 3.5l V6 Ford Rangers.

Khengere said Team Ford had a point to prove as they were recently denied a podium finish by Team Toyota in another race in South Africa.

He said Gareth surely made good use of his desert race experience to ensure that he finished first, saying he had been around for quite some time.

All was not lost for local fans as they were consoled by their favourite rider in the motorbike category.

Ross Branch, also known as the Kalahari Ferrari, had it easy and won with ease.

His experience came into play, seeing him finishing way ahead of his competitors.

In an interview after his race, Branch said he was happy to be where it all started, saying Jwaneng is where he grew up and he was elated to be among his home crowd.

Gareth and Branch’s wins of the Toyota Gazoo 1000 Kalahari Desert Race are their ticket to the much fancied Dakar Rally.  ENDS