Racing for three days and having to complete the best part of a thousand challenging kilometres in semi-desert conditions, sounds just perfect for competitors in the Special Vehicle Category of the South African Rally-Raid Championship. This is exactly what they will be doing when they travel to Upington in the Northern Cape for the Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa (TGRSA) 1000 Desert Race, the second round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 24, 25 and 26 June from the Upington Expo Centre.
A healthy amount of points towards the championships are also up for grabs and those teams who manage to outlast the competition and beat the desert, will be rewarded with the silverware and the points. To get to the finish might, however, be the challenge as this marathon event is not only the longest event on the national calendar, but it is also known as being the toughest.
With the 2×4 Century Racing CR6 vehicles now competing in the FIA Class T1.2 in the Production Vehicle Category, a relatively compact field will travel to Upington with Class A and Class G Side-by-Side (SxS) Championships being the best supported.
Former overall and Class A champions, Tim Howes and Gary Campbell (BAT Spec 4) have made a welcome return to the series and with the first points on the scoreboard and after not being able to complete the 2021 event, a good result will be worth their efforts.
Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck and her husband-navigator, Jaco Jonck (BAT Viper) also have a score to settle at Upington and a finish is what they are after with a podium result or even a victory the perfect bonus. Sandra has competed in numerous desert races in Botswana and finishing the TGRSA 1000 Desert Race will look good on their racing profile.
Lood du Preez (Farmers Meat Stryker) was also not able to reach the chequered flag last year and finishing the event this year together with Chris Visser Jnr as navigator, will be a perfect score for the team. The TGRSA 1000 Desert Race at Upington will be a first for Trace Price Moore and Shaun Braithwaite (BAT Venom) as well as for LC de Jager who has teamed up with Rikus Hattingh in a Porter. Local Upington businessman, Willem du Toit and Botswana navigator, Victor Fincham, participated and finished the 2021 event with a CR-T, but will this year tackle the desert in a Porter, and a good result in front of the home crowd will be one for the books.
Quintin Lessing/Noel Acton (Century CR-T) is the only Class P entry with some silverware on the horizon if they finish the event.
The desert can be hard on the SxS vehicles and five teams will face the music, all competing with the Can-Am Maverick SxS. The 2021 winners and defending national champions, Cecil and Elardus Larney, will hope for another victory, but with less mechanical issues that tested them last year while the 2019 TDR 1000 winner, Werner Mostert, who has teamed up with his son, Ian (Moto-Netix Racing) this year, will hope for a good event.
Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman (Hydro Power Equipment) are looking forward to the race aiming for lots of fun and a finish. Namibian driver, Marko Himmel and Nico Swartz (King Price Xtreme) as well as newcomers, Glen Theron/Craig Galvin, will also be in the line-up.
The event will be spectator-friendly with various vantage points from where the action can be observed. The Start/Finish as well as the Race Headquarters and the Designated Service Park (DSP) will be at the Upington Expo Centre from where the race routes will branch out.
The 43 kilometre Pirelli Qualifying Race starts on Friday at 9:00 followed by Loop One (171km) starting at 12:30. Racing will commence on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 08:00 and competitors will have to complete two loops of approximately 171 and 173 kilometres respectively on each day. The TGRSA 1000 Desert Race can be followed on the Rally Safe App that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the iStore.
Images: Andre Schoeman
