Team Toyo tamed one of the toughest off road racing tests on the motorsport calendar last weekend, with Brad Gallard and Scott Modistach winning the iconic Tatts Finke Desert Race outright in the #454 Monster Energy Chev Geiser Brothers Trophy Truck. While Toyo’s entrant in the Extreme 4WD category, Bruce Garland took class honours in his brand new 2012 Isuzu D-Max he is developing for Dakar.
Now in its 37th year, the Tatts Finke Desert Race continues to be the ultimate test for offroad racers, with the track which runs down the old Ghan Railway from Alice Springs to the Apatula Community (Finke) and back over two days providing the ultimate proving ground for tyres, suspension and drivetrains. Man and machine are pushed to the limits as they tackle the famous red sand dunes and huge Finke whoops that resemble an unforgiving large ocean swell.
‘The severity of the 460km off-road course provided us with the perfect proving ground for testing under extreme conditions in Australia, particularly the tyres anti-chip/anti-cut properties. And an outright win and a first in class finish is a true testament to the technology we put into our tyres.’ said José Angeles, Toyo’s marketing manager.
The Finke marked the Australian debut of the race spec Toyo 37x13.5R17 Open Country M/T-R’s on Gallard’s winning Trophy Truck, which are an almost identical pattern to Toyo’s off-the-shelf Open Country M/T (mud-terrain). It is also the same rubber used by Robbie Gordon and BJ Baldwin on their Trophy Trucks in the US.
The road to becoming King of the Desert wasn’t an easy one for Gallard. Qualifying sixth during Saturday’s prologue, Gallard dug deep and applied the Toyo off-road motto of “Attack the Dirt” to the central Australian desert. Unleashing the fury of the six litre V8 powered Geiser Bros Trophy Truck on the famous Finke whoops and sand hill fly overs. Charging into first position on the first leg of the race from Alice Springs to Finke with a time of 1hr 56min 39 seconds.
“We started in sixth spot and it was hard work even getting through the gate out of the prologue complex. We had dust pretty much all the way from Alice Springs down to Finke, mentally it was the toughest drive I have ever done.” said Gallard.
In contrast Monday’s return leg was a breeze. Starting first on the road Gallard had a dust free run all the way back to Alice Springs. Completing the final leg home in a time of 1hr 54min 53 sec to take the Tatts Finke Desert Race win and claim the “King of the Desert” title for the first time.
“We were confident in the complete truck package. The Toyo tyres held up perfectly the whole way and had awesome grip over the wide variety of terrain. They still have the sharp edges on them at the finish line, even after tackling the torturous terrain. I know we hit some rocks a couple of times hard, but there was still no sign of damage.”, commented Gallard.
Competing in the Extreme 4WD Class as part of his preparation for Dakar in 2013, Bruce Garland made a successful debut in his all-new 2012 Isuzu D-Max equipped with 235/85R16 Toyo Race Spec Open Country M/T-R’s.
“First in class plus 27th outright against all those little buggies is a great result and we’re very happy with it,” Garland says.
“We certainly had no trouble with tyres like so many teams did. One of the items we were testing this time was our new Toyo tyres and they were fantastic” he continued.
The next box to tick off for Garland is the Australasian Safari in WA (September 21-29) when Garland and long-term co-driver Harry Suzuki hope to rewrite the history books with the D-MAX as first diesel to win the event. They then head to South America in December to tackle some serious unfinished Dakar business – after a DNF in 2010 and last year’s disastrous crash in which Garland fractured a vertebra, they really want to improve on their 2009 result of 11th outright. The 2013 Dakar runs from January 5-20, through Peru, Argentina and Chile.
‘Toyo is proud to have been a part of two key milestone events. Brad’s first outright win at the Finke and the international off-road racing debut of the all-new 2012 Isuzu D-Max. It’s an impressive result for Team Toyo, congratulations to both teams.’ said José Angeles, Toyo’s marketing manager.
‘We understand the importance team’s place on tyre performance. And it’s no different to the attention we place on the performance and technology in our everyday tyres, both on and off the road.’
ABOUT TOYO TYRE
For over 40 years, Toyo Tires has stood for innovation, quality, performance and excellent service in Australia. Today, Toyo Tires offers a complete selection of premium replacement tyres for nearly every make and model, manufacturing the highest-quality tyres for high-performance cars, family and luxury vehicles, SUVs and 4x4s, light trucks, and for trucks and buses.
