The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit, the third round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship that takes place on 19 and 20 August on the Gauteng border, will give teams competing in the Special Vehicle Category the opportunity to bag a healthy amount of points towards the overall and class championships.
This category has received a reasonable number of entries which means that teams who finish the race at Bronkhorstspruit, will secure a good helping of points. This can assist in strengthening leads or solidify standings as the season reaches the halfway mark.
Various teams who scored points in the overall Special Vehicle Category as well as in Class A at the Mpumalanga 400 at the beginning of the season, are now competing in the new FIA T1.2 Class for 4×2 vehicles in the Production Vehicle Category. This means there are a few teams who lost out on some points at the season opener, but it also means that current competitors can walk away with lots more points if they make it to the finish.
Two solid performances for former overall and Class A champions, Tim Howes/Gary Campbell (Timdrew Property Development BAT Spec 4) have put them in the lead although the Trace Price Moor/Shaun Braithwaite pairing are not too far behind in the Tip Top Milk BAT Venom. Braithwaite will, however, not be at Bronkhorstspruit and Alaric Smith will read the notes for Trace. Lood du Preez/Chris Visser Jnr (Farmers Meat Stryker) have also scored after both the first two events and have a strong standing in the Class A championship although they are somewhat down on the overall standings.
Sandra Labuscagne-Jonck and her navigator-husband, Jaco Jonck (KEC Racing BAT Viper) can also gain from the situation where some teams are now competing in the Production Vehicle Category and the couple can move up the overall scoreboard if they can add points to their tally after the season opener. More points will also make up for the fact that they could not score at the recent TGRSA 1000 marathon event at Upington.
Keith and Andre Makenete who have moved to Class A in their BAT Makmobile, missed the desert race but are back for more action while LC de Jager/Rikus Hattingh (Porter) will again be aiming for their first points.
Class P will again see Quentin Lessing and Noel Acton (Century CR-T) going for gold as the team will aim to build on their finish, class win and good points earned at Upington. They will be joined by Guy Henley and Bryan Schwin in the ageing CR 2.
With two Class G Side-x-Side (SxS) Championship victories for Werner Mostert and his son, Ian (Moto-Netix Can-Am Maverick), the team have a solid lead while they have also jumped to the third step on the overall Special Vehicle Championship podium. A hat-trick of Class G SxS victories will suit them perfectly.
Geoff Minnitt/Gerhard Snyman (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick) have been scoring consistently this season and the team is close enough to the leaders to turn the tables if anything happens. Glen Theron/Craig Galvin (Moto-Netix Racing Can-Am Maverick) made their SA Rally-Raid debut at Upington and a podium result together with some good points adds to the motivation to be back for more. The defending champions, Cecil and Elardus Larney (Can-Am Maverick SxS) still have to get their title chase off the ground while Francois de Wit/Ewald van Rensburg, competing with a similar Can-Am, will make their debut at Bronkhorstspruit. Peter Walter and Pierre Jordaan also make a welcome appearance at the #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit.
The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit starts on Friday, 19 August at 12:00 from the Soetdoring Restaurant when teams have to complete a short 15km Pirelli Qualifying Race that will determine the starting order for the 83km Loop One which, commences at 14:00. Soetdoring Restaurant just outside Bronkhorstspruit will host the Start/Finish, Race Headquarters as well as the Designated Service Park (DSP) on both days.
On Saturday, 20 August the race will continue at 08:00 when teams take on the first of two 160km loops in the order of Friday’s results. There will also be a compulsory 30 minute service break between the two loops at the DSP. Spectators are welcome and can experience the racing action from various vantage points on the route. The race can also be followed on the RallySafe App which can be downloaded free of charge from the iStore and Google Play Store.
Images: Andre Schoeman
