The Toyota Blog

• Epic race to the South Pole to commemorate 100 years of Antarctic exploration

• World first for SA: First coins minted in Antarctica at the South Pole

• Converted Hilux AT vehicles (six built in SA) support teams in polar race

The extreme South African adventurers Braam Malherbe and Peter van Kets left South Africa last night (22 December 2011) for the Antarctica to participate in a race to the South Pole to commemorate the centenary of the epic race between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott to reach the South Pole first, and to raise funds for Operation Smile South Africa.

Upon reaching the races' ultimate destination Malherbe, a conservationist and environmental activist, and Van Kets, the only African to have rowed any ocean solo and unsupported, will overstrike 1 000 coins from the SA Mint on an antique press at the South Pole. This will be another world first for South Africa, as no coins have ever been minted in Antarctica.

The unique medallions will feature Antarctica on the reverse and promote the fight against climate change. It will pay tribute to the history of scientific explorers and the adventurers that crossed the ice-laden paths of this unforgiving continent to reach the South Pole 100 years ago.

During their journey the two South Africans (Team Mission Possible) will be logistically supported by a Toyota Hilux built in the Toyota South Africa Motors plant in Prospecton, Durban, before being converted by the Icelandic company Arctic Trucks (AT). The AT38 Hilux was donated to the South African Antarctic base SANAE last year, but with the blessing of the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) it has been converted to AT44 specification to participate as support vehicle for the EWR race.

Leading up to the race the South Africans have trained in Iceland and the glaciers of the French Alps to prepare them for the tough task ahead. Their endeavours, as well as those of the other competitors in the South Pole Race 2011/Centenary Race 2012, will be documented in a TV documentary series by the acclaimed South African TV production company Urban Brew called Cold Sweat. The programme will be aired on SABC3 in April next year.

The epic race, organised by Extreme World Races (EWR), will see sixteen competitors from seven nations, competing as seven teams, racing on foot and with sleds to be the first to the pole. Weather permitting the race will start on New Year’s Day, 75 km from the frozen coastline at Novo base. The competitors will cover 770 km, negotiating multiple crevasses, crossing snow bridges, and rising to 3 000 m on the high plateau in their quest to reach the Pole.

The other six teams, with competitors from Britain, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, will be also be supported by Hilux AT44 vehicles -- of which no less than five (including two 6x6 Hilux AT44’s) – were built in South Africa.

The progress of Malherbe and Van Kets, as well as the other teams and their support Hilux vehicles, can be followed on the websites www.coldsweat.tv, www.antarcticachallenge.com or www.extremeworldraces.com and with the latest technology the GPS position data, including latitude, longitude, elevation, heading, speed and distance covered by every team is tracked, including other parameters such as the ambient temperature, heart rate and core body temperature of each tracked athlete.

Notes on the South African athletes:

Braam Malherbe is a youth developer, international motivational speaker and TV presenter. He and David Grier were the first men to run the Great Wall of China (more than 4 100 km in 2006). This is recognized as a world first and funded the inaugural mission for Operation Smile in South Africa, a proactive international NGO which provides corrective surgery for children with cleft palate and cleft lip disfigurements. In 2008 Malherbe, again with Grier, completed another world first by running a "Smile around South Africa" with support from Toyota SA Motors. This expedition took them along the entire coastline from Namibia to Mozambique, a distance of 3 278 km. This project contributed in excess of R2.5 million to Operation Smile. He is author of the bestselling book "The Great Run", and ambassador and spokesperson for various organizations.

Peter van Kets has had a few adventures of a similar nature to the South Pole Race 2011/Centenary Race 2012, but admits that this will be the most extraordinary so far. He is the only African to have rowed any ocean solo and unsupported in 2010, and was the winner of the unsupported Atlantic Rowing Race in 2008. Father, husband, conservationist and professional athlete, Peter plans to change many children's lives by raising funds for Operation Smile South Africa.

Notes on the Arctic Trucks Toyota Hilux AT44

• Visit the Arctic Trucks website www.arctictrucks.com for technical details.

Notes on Antarctica

• Antarctica is the fifth largest of the seven continents, 14.2 million sq km in summer, approximately twice the size of Australia, half as big again as the USA and fifty times the size of the UK.

• In winter, Antarctica almost doubles in size as a result of ice forming on the coastline. While the coastlines are more susceptible to seasonal (and sea) temperatures, the main landmass is largely unaffected, being shielded from the sun.

• Antarctica is the coldest and windiest place on the planet. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -89.2°C, and the wind speed has hit 320 km/h, influencing currents in the southern oceans and temperatures far beyond the coastline.

• More than 99 percent of Antarctica is covered with ice, containing about 70 percent of the world's fresh water.

• There are two active volcanoes on Antarctica, as well as considerable volcanic activity under the ice