Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website "Class" Superiority: Toyota's Ultimate Victory in the Production category at Silk Way 2016 Rally
july 27, 2016 - Toyota

"Class" Superiority: Toyota's Ultimate Victory in the Production category at Silk Way 2016 Rally

  • On July 24, the hard line endurance competition – Silk Way 2016 Rally finished in Beijing
  • Teams competing on Toyota cars took the first three positions in the Production category and virtually turned the group into a monocup
  • The winner in the Production category was Astana Motorsport team competing in Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
  • The manufacturer’s team Toyota Autobody in Toyota VDJ 200 was the second in the Production category
  • 27 % of the #rally crews and 71.5 % of the participants in the Production Class have chosen Toyota SUVs to struggle for victory in the Silk Way Rally, so the brand was an absolute leader in terms of quantity among all car manufacturers presented in the rally
  • Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Hilux were just brilliant as the official cars of the Silk Way 2016 cross country #rally and covered a distance of more than 10,000 km without a single failure
Toyota Motor PLC -  Today the hard line endurance competition – international Silk Way 2016 #rally raid – finished in Beijing. Toyota SUVs triumphed in the challenges of 15-day cross country #rally along the Great Silk Way. The route of the greatest rally raid in the history of the project went through 3 countries and consisted of 15 stages with a total length of 10,734 kilometers, including 4,105 kilometers of the most challenging special stages.
During the entire #rally, only crews in the legendary Toyota SUVs were struggling irreconcilably for the first place in the Production Category (T2). The competition spectacularly reflected the absolute advantage of Toyota in T2. From the start to finish, there was a vicious battle of Astana Motorsport with the manufacturer’s team Toyota Autobody in Toyota VDJ 200, which was the second in the Production Category. Another major competitor who demonstrated the extreme persistence was the Off Road Kazakhstan team competing in Toyota Land Cruiser 200. For many years, Toyota SUVs have been a default choice for the T2 Group in the #silkwayrally. In 2016, 10 crews out of 14 (71.5 %) have chosen Toyota and virtually turned the group into a monocup.

Drivers of the Astana Motorsport crew (Kazakhstan) who participated in the #rally in Toyota Land Cruiser 155 were at the top. “We have tested Toyota in competitions many times. I won more than 50 rallies driving Toyota Land Cruiser 200 and Land Cruiser Prado for the last 17 years. These are ones of the best cars in the Production Category. They can show a decent result in the World Cup, Dakar and #silkwayrally Raids. I mean the marathons that require optimum combination of power, weight and reliability of vehicles”, – commented Denis Berezovskiy, the driver of Astana Motorsport, Republic of Kazakhstan. 

A convincing proof of the superior Toyota off-road technologies was a brilliant result of crew No. 116 headed by Jerome Pelichet in Toyota Hilux in the Superproduction category and in overall standings. The Raid Lynx Team was in the Top-10 of the #rally and was the eighth among all participants in the #rally raid. “I choose Toyota just because it’s the best”, – Jerome Pelichetcommented on his choice of Toyota SUVs to participate in the #rally (Raid Lynx Team, France). 

The uncompromising reliability of Toyota Land Cruiser and legendary endurance of Toyota Hilux determined the choice of the majority of the teams who entrusted their sporting success to Toyota in the general #rally categories. In 2016, 27 % of the crews relied on the famous Toyota durability, reliability and quality in the 15-day irreconcilable fight and made the brand an absolute leader among the car manufacturers. 

Many world-class teams that competed in the Silk Way 2016 #rally long ago made Toyota cars practically their default option as #racing assistances and support cars. 35 crews (40 %) that participated in the #rally raid chose reliable Toyota cars as their support cars. In 2016, the mission of technical support groups was more challenging than ever. Working on the Silk Way route was a grueling strength test because of the 40-degree heat in the steppes of Kazakhstan and in the Chinese desert, heavy rains in the Volga steppes, dunes, mountain passes, fords and other obstacles along the route with a length of over 10 thousand kilometers. 

In 2016, Toyota SUVs were the official car of the greatest #rally raid in the history of the Silk Way Project. Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Hilux capable to handle any challenges with the original equipment line were just brilliant as the official cars of the cross country #rally. Due to high level of adaptation to the extreme road and climatic conditions, solid “body on frame” design, reliable four-wheel drive and advanced electronic off-road assistance systems, Toyota SUVs had no problem to deliver the organizers to the highly inaccessible points on the route and coped brilliantly with all the tasks assigned.

“It is the most important for us that Toyota cars are presented in the #silkwayrally on a massive scale. These are both «competing Toyota SUVs» and the vehicles of technical support. These are also cars for the organizers and journalists able to deliver their passengers to any place, even if there is no road at all. Famous Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota Hilux SUVS are simply essential for any tests at the edge of capabilities. That’s why it is just impossible to imagine either the Dakar or #silkwayrally raids without Toyota SUVs”, – Tatiana Khalyavskaya, Director of Marketing, Toyota Motor PLC commented.