Hilux Homebound

The last stage of the longest race in the world.
Battered, beaten, broken. Man and machine, enduring all of natures prowess. This is the Dakar Rally. Known as the most gruelling race in motorsport- and it shows. 12 days of rally, across rock, stone and dune. From the East of the Arabian peninsula, down South, then a long trek to the capital up in the North, only to loop back to the original starting point. Tents in the evening, leather-bound foam seats in the day. Tyre changes, shattered shocks. All in a days work. The drivers suffer, but even more so do the vehicles. Many don’t make the finish line, many make it in ruins. Just finishing the race is an achievement in itself. Pictured above, is the proof of that. Running this year in the car category were the Toyota manufacturer team with its renowned Hilux, synonymous worldwide for its reliability. Top Gear tried (and failed) to kill one, and its one of the reasons you see so many on the roads today. Alas, as luck would have it, even the famed Hilux could not outlast the Dakar. Pictured above, it might look like at first to be a Hilux convoy, on its parade lap back to the finish line. Upon closer inspection (and after reviewing the shots later) its is, in fact, one a rescue mission- the last standing machine, towing a stricken compatriot across the finish line, Disney Pixar’s Cars style. A sorry sight indeed, but one of great significance, a true testimony to the perseverance of man.
“It takes 10,000km to win the Dakar, but only 1 to end it.”