Round 5 of the Absa Off Road Championship, the Sun City 400, happened this past weekend carrying along with it a bit of drama for the Toyota teams.

Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn came out third overall in what turned out to be quite a challenging race. They finished with a flat front tyre.

Mark Cronje/Chris Birkin and Anthony Taylor/Robin Houghton (Toyota Hilux Factory cars - SP class) experienced a string of problems on the course. The hiccups started on Friday's Prologue (where grid times are determined) for Taylor/Houghton when they got a flat wheel and misfortune of a car jack coming loose.

Cronje/Birkin had more than 5 punctures and could not continue with the race after they'd run out of wheels. They were also in danger of being excluded from the results for "outside assistance" but Toyota's appeal against the decision resulted in their being reinstated.

Birkin: "I suppose you could say it was a deflating event. This isn’t a race we will remember too kindly".

It wasn't any easier for Taylor/Houghton. They got punctures, a broken brake line, an exhaust that fell off, problems with the car jack once again, and they too ran out of wheels and could not finish the race.

Taylor: "This sport is enough to make a grown man cry"

Other Results:

• George Barkhuizen/Ockie Fourie (Ruwacon Toyota Hilux) - 7th position (overall)
• Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst (Castrol Toyota Hilux) - 8th position (overall)
• Jaco Swanepoel/Keith Solomon - 9th position (overall)
• Cliff Weichelt/Nico Els (N1 4x4 Toyota Hilux D4D) - Class D win
• Ramon and Maret Bezuidenhout (Toyota Hilux) - 3rd position (Class D)
• Rookie Dewald van Breda/Johan du Toit (Potch Toyota Hilux) - Class E win
• Jannie Visser/Joks le Roux (Team Barberspan Toyota Hilux) - 2nd position (Class E)
• Diederick and Danie Hattingh (Toyota Hilux) - 3rd position (Class E)

Get more info on off road events, results and driver profiles at www.toyota.co.za/motorsport