After seven attempts, Toyota Gazoo Racing Thailand finally succeeded in becoming the overall champion at the 2024 Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR). The #105 Hilux of Mana Pornsiricherd and Kittisak Klinchan bested over 40 other vehicles in the automotive category to take the title, completing the six-leg, 2,100km race in 14 hours and 22 seconds.
This marks the second consecutive year that Toyota Gazoo Racing won the event, although in 2023, it was Toyota Gazoo Racing Indonesia that claimed a one-two finish with a pair of rally-prepped Fortuners. In AXCR 2024, the Indonesian squad’s best result was fourth place with the #115 Fortuner of Ikuo Hanawa and Hirokazu Somemiya, who led the race at the halfway point.
The second and third spots this year were taken by Isuzu Suphan Explorer Liqui Moly Rally Team. The #112 D-Max finished quite close behind the Hilux with a time of just under 14 hours and 26 minutes. Unlike the T1D cars in the top two spots, the #106 D-Max in third place was under the T2A-D category and had considerably fewer modifications compared with the rally cars in the higher classes.
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Recent AXCR winners didn’t fare as well in this year’s edition, with 2023 champions Takumi Aoki, Ittipon Simaraks, and Songwut Danphiphattrakoon in the #101 Hilux managing only seventh. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart’s #103 Triton, helmed by 2022 champions Chayapon Yotha and Peerapong Sombutwong, jumped to the top spot in Leg 4 and had a healthy lead until the home stretch of Leg 5, when its engine suddenly stopped with just 2km to go. The issue ended Yotha and Sombutwong’s challenge, and the team’s best result was fifth place with the #107 Triton of Katsuhiko Taguchi and Takahiro Yasui.
For the full AXCR 2024 results in the automotive category, click here.
