Toyota Prado Silk Road Chase Vehicle in R&T Article (1 Viewer)

[tortoiseracing]

This post isn't about a 150-Series Toyota, but I thought people here might be interested anyway. Moderators, feel free to move this if necessary.

I'm a sucker for articles documenting the human element behind motorsports, particularly when it deals with endurance racing. To me, it's a special type of activity that pushes people and equipment to their limits. Which explains why I was intrigued by this article in Road & Track about two photographers documenting the Silk Road race. The photographers use a 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado for their vehicle (shipped from Italy), and there are some good photos of the outfitted vehicle. Definitely a testament to the sturdy nature of our Prado ancestry.

Giving Chase in One of the World’s Most Remote Rallies

Chasing the Silk Road.

www.roadandtrack.com

 

[westtxco90]

Thank you for posting this. How cool.

 

[r2m]

Would love to do it, but without the pressure of being in a race.

 

[ericm979]

Would love to do it, but without the pressure of being in a race.

Some of these rally-raid events have tourist classes/routes too. Silk Way did in 2022:

https://silkwayrally.com/en/the-great-grand-tour-2022/

I thought Dakar did but I don't see it on their web site. Maybe they did in the past when it was in South America or Africa.

BTW the article was great, thx for the link. It's interesting that nomads living in the middle of nowhere drive lifted Priuses.

 

[r2m]

Some of these rally-raid events have tourist classes/routes too. Silk Way did in 2022:

https://silkwayrally.com/en/the-great-grand-tour-2022/

I thought Dakar did but I don't see it on their web site. Maybe they did in the past when it was in South America or Africa.

BTW the article was great, thx for the link. It's interesting that nomads living in the middle of nowhere drive lifted Priuses.

My issues would be the cost to get my rig and equipment over there and the time off from work.
Also, I seen bandits tag some of the racers on Dakar, but what about tourists?

 

[ericm979]

My issues would be the cost to get my rig and equipment over there and the time off from work.
Also, I seen bandits tag some of the racers on Dakar, but what about tourists?

I thought you were ready to go!

I'd be leery of doing anything in Russia right now no matter what your feelings are on their war. There's currently export restrictions which may make it impossible to send a vehicle there from the US anyhow. And the possibility that Russians might "find" some contraband on you and decide to make you a political bargaining chip.

The Dakar had bandit problems the last few years in Africa but I don't remember any in South America or Saudi Arabia. Some of the South America routes had incredibly spectacular scenery (speaking as someone who just watches it on tv) but the Saudi routes have been lots of sand.

There's a bunch of outfits that organize overland runs in the US. Is that what you're looking for, or something low key competitive like a traditional TSD road rally but off road? I used to do a bunch of organized century bicycle rides (which are usually not very competitive, though I also did real races) and one of the best parts was riding a route that someone with local knowledge had curated.

 

[r2m]

I thought you were ready to go!

I'd be leery of doing anything in Russia right now no matter what your feelings are on their war. There's currently export restrictions which may make it impossible to send a vehicle there from the US anyhow. And the possibility that Russians might "find" some contraband on you and decide to make you a political bargaining chip.

The Dakar had bandit problems the last few years in Africa but I don't remember any in South America or Saudi Arabia. Some of the South America routes had incredibly spectacular scenery (speaking as someone who just watches it on tv) but the Saudi routes have been lots of sand.

There's a bunch of outfits that organize overland runs in the US. Is that what you're looking for, or something low key competitive like a traditional TSD road rally but off road? I used to do a bunch of organized century bicycle rides (which are usually not very competitive, though I also did real races) and one of the best parts was riding a route that someone with local knowledge had curated.

ericm979 > "I thought you were ready to go!"
Not into competition. Just overlanding. And for that purpose, the off road club my wife and I are in works great! Everything from one day, weekends, week long, into high country, high and low desert, rocks, sand, even as far a Colorado.
So we have a good mix. My wife and I will pick and choose when a ride comes up if we feel like doing it or not. Try and do the desert's in the winter and mountains in the summer.
I used to do a lot of cycling, biathlons, triathlons, as a team event. I can swim, but can't do any distance running. A lot of fun. Never got into centurys, but did some long day rides back when I was riding!