The Vryburg 400, the sixth and penultimate round of the South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS) that takes place this weekend, 29 and 30 October, at Vryburg in the North-West Province, got off to a good start with the Pirelli Qualifying Race dishing up a 42km hors d’oeuvre to the teams in the Production and Special Vehicles Categories. The results determined the starting order for the main meal on Saturday that will consist of a 179 kilometre loop competitors will have to complete twice.
All the action happens from the Vryburg Motor Club where the Start/Finish, Designated Service Point (DSP) and Race Headquarters are situated. And although the area received good rains during the week before the race, the route was still dusty until a downpour halfway through the qualifying event added to the challenge. Teams were tested on a diverse route with sandy as well as rocky sections while the wind and stormy weather conditions added to the drama.
The luck of the draw befell Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Ford Castrol Cross Country Racing Ranger) who had to open the road for the Pirelli Qualifying Race again. This is no easy task and the team were eventually eighth fastest in the Production Vehicle Category (31 min. 22 s.) with the flying Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer (Century Racing CR6) posting the fastest time (30 min. 08 s.) despite a wrong-slot and a flat tyre towards the end of the race.
Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux T1+) were second fastest (30:12), but the team will again not be in contention for results as they are testing the prototype vehicle for the upcoming Dakar Rally. Lance Woolridge/Elvéne Vonk (Ford Castrol Cross Country Racing Ranger) had a good run to finish third (30:36), 11 seconds ahead of defending champions, Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux) who are happy to tackle the main race from their fourth position.
The tension will be palpable at the front with all three teams gunning for the overall and FIA Class championships starting in the top four (Baragwanath/Cremer; Woolridge/Vonk and Lategan/Cummings). Ernest Roberts/Henry Köhne brought the second Century Racing CR6 home in the top five (31:12), a second ahead of the fastest Class T team, Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux).
The rest of the top ten in the Production Vehicle Category consisted of Jason Venter/Jaco van Aardt (4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux) who finished seventh (31:21); Shameer Variawa/Danie Stassen (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux) in ninth place (31:24) and Eben Basson/Gerhard Schutte (Red-Lined Motorsport REVO) rounding off the top 10, a mere minute and 31 seconds behind the Vryburg 400 Pirelli Qualifying Race winners.
The Class T championship leaders, Malcolm and Frans Kock (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) were 11th and second in Class T (31:49) while Gary Bertholdt and stand-in navigator, Stompie Mynhardt (Toyota Hilux) finished 12th (32:11). Their team-mates, Chris Visser/Albertus Venter (Toyota Hilux) had to settle for 14th place due to time lost with an early puncture five kilometres into the race. They will start the main race just behind Mark Corbett/Rodney Burke (Century Racing CR6) who finished 37 seconds ahead of them.
Johan van Staden and son, Sean (Moto-Netix KEG Racing Renault Duster) and Schalk Burger/Henk Janse van Vuuren (King Price Xtreme Mercedes-Benz X Class) posted the same time in 15th place followed by Dylan Venter/Vince van Allemann (4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux) who were third in Class T (33:55). Also in the top 20 were Philip Botha/Roelof Janse van Vuren (Red-Lined Motorsport VK56) (34:01); Marius Fourie/Hendrikus Pienaar (Ford Ranger) (34:27) and Christo Rose/Arno Olivier (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) fourth in Class T (35:13).
Six more teams completed the route. The German driver, Jurgen Schröder/Ryan Bland (WCT Engineering Nissan Navara) were followed by Dewald van Breda/Johann du Toit (Century Racing CR6) with the Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger Development Team of Baphumza Rubuluza/Fanifani Meyiwa weathering the storm. Richard Leeke/Zaheer Bodhanya (BSpeed Leeke Motorsport) experienced electrical problems, but were happy to finish, just ahead of Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) who lost time due to two flat tyres.
Despite the rainy weather, it was a baptism of fire for the 17 year-old, Jayden Els and Armand du Toit (King Price Xtreme Renault Duster) who will bring up the rear on Saturday. Hein and HJ Kruger (Toyota Hilux) could not complete the qualifier.
In the Special Vehicle Category, the newly crowned champions, Lance Trethewey/Adriaan Roets (King Price Xtreme BAT) were again unstoppable and posted the fastest time (31:17), 41 seconds faster than their team-mates, Boela Botes/Jay Pretorius (Porter) who finished second in the category and in Class A. Vryburg has always been a special racing area for Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck who has lots of good memories and has done many kilometres here. After a disappointing season so far, she was elated to post the third fastest time (33:06) together with hubby and navigator, Jaco Jonck (Moto-Netix KEC Racing BAT) despite the heavy rain adding to their challenge.
The youngsters, Kent Rutherford/Kabelo Mokanyane (Enza Construction Can-Am Maverick) might be less experienced, but they have proved they can run with the big dogs. They did so again and were the fastest in Class G were the Can-Am Maverick Side-by-Side is the weapon of choice for all teams. The young team were fourth fastest in the Special Vehicle Category (33:37) followed by the second team in Class G, Werner Mostert and his son, Ian (King Price Xtreme) who reached the finish with a flat tyre. The Mostert father and son were a mere three seconds faster than Geoff Minnitt/Gerhard Snyman who rounded off the Class G podium.
The Larney brothers, Cecil and Elardus, are the Class G championship leaders, but need to finish with more points to better their chance on winning the title. They were seventh in the category (35:52) and fourth in Class G followed by yet another Class G team, Bazil Bezuidenhout/Rikus Hattingh (Moto-Netix KEC Racing).
The Upington businessman, Willem du Toit and Victor Fincham were the lonely Class P starters. They finished ninth and completed the 42 kilometres in 42 minutes with the bikers, Nicolas Pienaar/Carl Swanepoel in their BAT, 10th in their first national attempt. Lood du Preez/Tiaan Swart (Farmers Meat Stryker) could not complete the distance.
The Vryburg 400 will continue on Saturday when teams have to complete a 179 kilometre loop twice to earn points towards the championships. The action starts at 08h00 at the Vryburg Motor Club. Enthusiasts can follow the action on the RallySafe App that can be downloaded for free of charge from the iStore and Google Play Store.
Photos by Nadia at PixelArt
