Wet, windy with rain storms or dry and dusty, fast racing or navigating twisty and rocky terrain – bring it on and Lance Trethewey and navigator Adriaan Roets finish on top. The team from Wartburg in KwaZulu-Natal and the 2019 champions proved again what they are made of by claiming their fifth consecutive victory of the season by winning the Special Vehicle Category at the fifth round of the South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS), the 4×4 Mega World 400 on Saturday, 2 October at Nampo Park in the Bothaville area in the Free State.
This was the second victory of the weekend for the King Price Xtreme Team in their BAT Venom and their consistent participation and results put them in a very favourable position for the overall and Class A championship titles, as they did in 2019.
The team posted the fastest time after the short 15km Pirelli Qualifying Sprint that determined the starting grid for the main race consisting of a 180km loop that teams had to complete twice to be deemed finishers. The weather played along and an all-new route awaited teams in dry and dusty conditions as opposed to the wet weather of the previous day.
It was, however, not all plain sailing and the rocky sections had to be navigated carefully. The team picked up a puncture during the first loop, but were unstoppable and won in a time of 04:50:37. They were well clear of their team-mates, second-placed Boela Botes/Jay Pretorius (Porter) who overcame fuel issues during the first loop to claim their second runner-up result of the weekend and bag a healthy amount of points towards the championships.
The overall podium in the Special Vehicle Category was rounded off by the winners of Class G for Side-x-Side Vehicles with an elated Geoff Minnitt/Gerhard Snyman finishing their first race of the season and owning it by also winning the class (05:46:15). Minnitt/Snyman were the fastest SxS after the 15km qualifying race. The team experienced mechanical issues the previous day at the fourth round of the season, but they persevered and showed their mettle in difficult conditions.
The winners of Class P, Keith and Andrew Makenete (BAT) were fourth in the category (05:57:58) albeit finishing on three wheels as a wheel came off their vehicle 500 metres before the finish. They were followed by rookie Class A campaigners Lood du Preez/Tiaan Swart (Farmers Meat Stryker) (06:00:51) who could also not complete the fourth round the previous day.
Bazil Bezuidenhout/Rikus Hattingh (Can-Am Maverick SxS) added to their collection of silverware for the weekend by finishing sixth overall and second in the Class G SxS championship. It was another tough day in the office for the Larney brothers, Cecil and Elardus in their Ride Fox Africa Can-Am Maverick SxS arrived at Nampo Park as the Class G championship leaders. Like the previous day, they again made it to the finish albeit with a 10 hour penalty for not completing the first loop due to mechanical issues. Their result places them last of the finishers and third in Class G.
The fourth round of the season that took place on Friday, 1 October at Nampo Park, took its toll on a few teams resulting in a smaller field in the Special Vehicle Category for the fifth round.
Teams now have four weeks to prepare for the sixth and penultimate round of the season when they will take on the Vryburg 400 on 29 and 30 October in the North West province.
Photos by Nadia at PixelArt
