Friday, 1 October 2021 – The 4×4 Mega World 400 got underway today, Friday, 1 October at Nampo Park outside Bothaville in the Free State with the fourth round of the South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS) and an action-packed race day included a sprint qualifying race as well as the main race with an intensive thunderstorm contributing to the events.
Round four of the SACCS consisted of a short 14km Pirelli Qualifying Sprint that determined the starting order for the main race that got underway at 09h30. Competitors had to complete a loop of 178 kilometres twice for them to be able to bag the first set of points for the weekend as the 4×4 Mega World 400 Round Five will be hosted on Saturday, 2 October with another set of points up for grabs.
In the Production Vehicle Category, it was Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy who posted the best overall time (04:45:17) with their all-new Toyota Gazoo Racing DKR Hilux T1+, but as their race vehicle is still a prototype, De Villiers/Murphy will not be scoring points towards the various championships this weekend and are using the race for more testing for their participation in the 2022 Dakar Rally.
This means that, like last year, their team-mates and the defending champions, Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings took the victory (04:46:55) with their new race vehicle after they started as the second vehicle in the Production Vehicle Category. Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer (Century Racing CR6) won the Pirelli Qualifying Sprint and opened the road of the main race. They kept it together despite a wrong-slot while still in the lead and finished as the overall and FIA Class runners-up (04:50:20) after some close racing between the teams at the front. Baragwanath was also second in this event last year with then navigator Taye Perry after the team also won the qualifying race.
The rain, wind and poor weather conditions added to the challenge with the route turning into a slippery track that forced competitors to take a cautious approach. The route then dried out somewhat during the second loop, but most teams found it quite rough and tough on man and machine.
Joining the Toyota Hilux and CR 6 on the podium, were Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer in the Ford Castrol Cross Country Ranger (04:52:38). They were the first vehicle out on the Pirelli Qualifying Race and started the main race somewhat down the field after posting the 12th fastest time in the Production Vehicle Category.
Chris Visser/Albertus Venter (Toyota Hilux) romped home in fourth place (04:55:16) after a problem-free event with Shameer Variawa/Danie Stassen (Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux) rounding off the overall top five after starting the main event from 13th place.
The competition in the FIA Class was as fierce as ever with the first eight teams at the finish all competing in this class. The winners of the opening round, Lance Woolridge/Elvéne Vonk (Ford Castrol Cross Country Ranger) finished just outside the top five after they lost time when their vehicle got beached in a mine dump section of the route. They did however finish just 10 seconds behind Variawa/Stassen after racing for almost five hours and completing 370 extreme kilometres in total. Eben Basson/Gerhard Schutte (Red-Lined Motorsport VK56 Evo2) had another great outing to finish seventh, five minutes 45 seconds behind the Ford Ranger.
They were followed by their former teammates, Ernest Roberts/Henry Köhne (05:10:05) who gave their new Century Racing CR 6 its first outing. Roberts/Köhne lost time when they beached the vehicle during the first loop and had a puncture in the second loop.
Keeping it clean proved to be a working formula for the winners of Class T, Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) who finished ninth overall (05:10:20) and a mere 15 seconds behind Roberts/Köhne after a trouble-free race. Team Neil Woolridge Motorsport claimed the Class T podium as their team-mates, Bernard Johnstone/Jan Harm Hugo, who started stone last after a tough qualifying race, fought back to finish second (05:19:36), they were 13th overall while Christo Rose/Arno Olivier were third and15th overall.
The Development Team and newcomers, Baphumza Rubuluza/Fanifani Meyiwa (06:10:05), who also experienced a tough qualifying race and started at the back, completed their second race of the season and finished fifth in Class T.
The defending Class T champions, Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) did not have a good qualifier and joined Johnstone/Hugo and Rubuluza/Meyiwa towards the end of the field for the start of the main race. They had their work cut out, but persevered to finish fourth in Class T while they were 16th overall.
There were mixed results for the Venter brothers with Jason Venter/Jaco van Aardt (4×4 Mega World ARB Toyota Hilux) finishing 10th overall and ninth in the FIA Class despite a few mechanical issues while Dylan and Vincent van Allemann had to call it a day, in sight of DSP, due to a broken control arm.
The chequered flag was also waved for two more Century Racing teams. Dewald van Breda/Johann du Toit (CR6) were 10th in the FIA Class, they finished 11th overall, and were followed by Mark Corbett/Rodney Burke (CR6). Philip Botha/Roelof Janse van Vuren (Red-Lined Motorsport VK56) added to their unblemished record of race finishes by doing so again. They were 14th overall and scored points in the FIA Class Championship for finishing 12th while the international team of Thomas Bell/Bruno Jacomy (Red-Lined VK56) were 18th overall and 13th in the FIA Class.
It was a long day for the father and son team of Johan and Sean van Staden (Moto-Netix KEC Racing Renault Duster) who started the main race just outside the top 10, but had to settle for the final spot on the results. They finished 19th overall and were 14th in the FIA Class.
There was heartache for a few teams who ran into some trouble and could not complete the event. Between those who fell by the wayside were the Class T leaders, Malcolm Kock and his son, Frans (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) as well as Gary Bertholdt/Siegfried Rousseau (Toyota Hilux) while a broken propshaft on the Red-Lined Motorsport REVO forced Conrad Rautenbach/Riaan Greyling to call it a day.
Teams will be ready for the 4×4 Mega World 400 action on Saturday, 2 October for round five of the SACCS. A new route will await the teams starting with a 15km sprint that will again determine the order for the main race. The 180km loop of the main race will take competitors in a different direction and more points towards the championships are there for the taking if they complete the loop twice. All the action starts at 07h30 at Nampo Park and enthusiasts can follow the action on the RallySafe App, which can be downloaded free of charge from Google Play Store and the iStore.
Photos by Nadia at PixelArt
