The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit, the third round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 19 and 20 August in the Bronkhorstspruit area on the outskirts of Gauteng, will present teams with an enjoyable route and if the competition so far this season is anything to go by, spectators will be spoiled with exciting racing action.
With a seven week hiatus since the gruelling TGRSA 1000 Desert Race at Upington in the Northern Cape, teams will be ready and looking forward to take on the next round of the series and revisiting the Bronkhorstspruit area, and after not racing there during the 2021 season, will remind them why this event has become so popular over the years.
With the season consisting of seven rounds, the #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit will also represent the halfway mark of the 2022 SA Rally-Raid Championship with more valuable points towards the various title chases in the Production Vehicle and Special Vehicle Championships up for grabs.
The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit returns to the same popular venue, now called the Soetdoring Restaurant just outside the town where the Race Headquarters as well as the Designated Service Point (DSP) and the Start/Finish of the race will be situated.
On Friday, 19 August the wheels will start turning at 12:00 when teams take on the short 15 kilometre Pirelli Qualifying Race with the results determining the starting order for the 83 kilometre loop one that starts at 14:00. There will be a total of three neutralisation sections the in the loop of which two will be a kilometre in distance and one will be five kilometres.
The results of loop one will again determine the starting positions for the first of the two 160 kilometre loops on Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning, 20 August loop two will start at 08:00 from the Soetdoring Restaurant and after teams have completed it, there will be a compulsory 30 minute service break at DSP before they tackle loop three. There will be three neutralisation sections in the loop – two short one kilometre sections and a longer 14 kilometre section.
Not having raced at Bronkhorstspruit since 2020, some competitors might have to sharpen their memories while it will be a new racing experience for others. According to the SA Rally-Raid Route Director, Rudi Muller, the route will consist of mostly hardpack and smooth roads around cultivated fields with rocky and technical sections making up 20% of the route.
Spectators are welcome to view the action along the route, and with Bronkhorstspruit just over an hour’s drive from Johannesburg and half an hour from Pretoria and eMalahleni, it will be an easy drive to get to the race. The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit promises to be as enjoyable for the competitors as it will be for the supporting spectators.