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LATEGAN/CUMMINGS VICTORIOUS AT NAMPO PARK
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HOWES/CAMPBELL STRENGTHEN THEIR LEAD IN SPECIAL VEHICLE CATEGORY
Round four of the SA Rally-Raid Championship that took place from Nampo Park outside Bothaville in the Free State on Friday, 30 September, saw the defending champions, Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA DKR Hilux T1+) claiming the victory with TGRSA DKR Hilux T1+ teams owning the overall Production Vehicle Category podium after a tough day.
It was also a challenging day for the teams in the Special Vehicle Category where former champions, Tim Howes/Gary Campbell (BAT Spec 4) scored their third consecutive overall and Class A victory of this season.
The event at Nampo Park serves as a double-header event with Round 5 taking place on Saturday, 1 October.
A short nine kilometre Pirelli Qualifying Race early on Friday morning determined the starting order for the race that consisted of a 166 kilometre loop which competitors had to complete twice. After the qualifier, the 10 fastest teams also draw their starting positions and although Lategan/Cummings posted the quickest time, they started the race from 10th place.
Thick dust and not much wind added to the challenge, but Lategan/Cummings kept their cool to claim their third victory this year. Their combined time (04:14:17) of the day was only a minute and 54 seconds faster than their team-mates, Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy-Lyle, who were again only a minute and 19 seconds ahead of Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy with both teams in similar DKR T1+ vehicles. Just missing out on the podium was Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (NWM Ford Castrol T1+ Ranger) who opened the road on the first of the two loops. They finished a mere 17 seconds behind De Villiers/Murphy after a fairly clean run.
The Ford team were followed by three more teams in FIA T1+ with the Horn brothers, Johan and Werner (#TeamHilux Rally Raid DKR T1+) fifth (04:22:21) and Shameer Variawa/Danie Stassen (TGRSA DKR Hilux T1+) sixth, just over one minute behind after starting the first loop from further back and losing drive to the front wheels during the second loop. The second NWM Ford Castrol T1+ Ranger of Lance Woolridge/Elvéne Vonk qualified combined second with De Villiers/Murphy, but lost time due to mechanical issues and had to settle for seventh place in FIA T1+.
Three FIA T1 teams worked their way into the overall top 10 of the Production Vehicle Category. Eben Basson/Leander Pienaar (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid) started the first loop from way down the field after the qualifier, but came back with a vengeance to win the class. They finished seventh (04:25:57) with a mere 30 seconds separating them from Chris Visser/Albertus Venter (Red-Lined Motorsport REVO) who lead the class for the best part of the day until a flat tyre cost them time.
Gary Bertholdt/Juan Möhr (Toyota Hilux) rounded off the FIA T1 podium, just over a minute behind Visser/Venter and only 25 seconds ahead of their team-mates, the German driver, Daniel Schröder/Ryan Bland (Nissan Navara) who are aiming for the T1 title.
There were new FIA T1.2 winners, Malcolm and Frans Kock (JCP Steel Supplies CR6) who finished ninth overall (04:27:25). They shared the T1.2 podium with runners-up, Dewald van Breda/Adriaan Roets (04:38:31) who finished15th in the Production Vehicle Category and Lance Trethewey/Leonard Cremer (King Price Xtreme) in similar CR6 vehicles. Like Van Breda/Roets, Trethewey/Cremer also stopped to assist Ernest Roberts/Henry Köhne (JCP Steel Supplies CR6) with spare wheels. Roberts/Köhne, who experienced problems with the on-board inflation system during the first loop, eventually finished fourth ahead of fifth placed Murray/Bergman in the WCT HT2 Toyota Hilux Turbo.
Also in the top 15 were the Class T winners, Jayden Els/Armand du Toit (King Price Xtreme Renault Duster) – 04:31:33 – who were 12th as well as the Class T runners-up, Johan and Sean van Staden (KEC Racing Renault Duster), a minute and 31 seconds behind and in 14th place. SARRC newcomers, Hendrik and Heinrich du Plessis in their Ford Ranger finished third in Class T in their debut national and were 16th overall. The Blignaut brothers, Fouche and Bertus (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid) were 13th overall and fifth in FIA T1 (04:32:15).
More finishers in the Production Vehicle Category included Richard Leeke/Zaheer Bodhanya (Leeke Motorsport) who were sixth in FIA T1 despite mechanical issues; Jürgen Schröder/Stuart Gregory (Nissan Navara) who finished seventh in T1 and Nicolas Pienaar/Carl Swanepoel (Super Energi Race Fuels Red-Lined VK50) eight in FIA T1. Christo Rose/Arno Olivier (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger) also claimed points finishing fourth in Class T.
Red-Lined Motorsport team-mates, Philip Botha/Roelof Janse van Vuren (Red-Lined VK56); Thomas Bell/Wade Harris (REVO) and Johan de Bruyn/Gerhard Schutte (VK56) all made it home in ninth, 10th and 11th respectively in FIA T1.
In the Special Vehicle Category, Howes/Campbell (04:36:20) were closely followed by their Class A rivals, Trace Price Moor/Shaun Braithwaite (BAT Venom) who finished a mere two minutes and 43 seconds behind them after almost 350 kilometres of gruelling racing. Lood du Preez/Chris Visser Jnr (Farmers Meat Stryker) joined them on the Class A podium although they finished somewhat further behind (05:09:39), fourth overall in the category.
Rounding off the overall podium were the Class G winners, Geoff Minnitt/Gerhard Snyman (Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am Maverick) who are locked in a tight championship battle with Werner Mostert and his son, Ian (Moto-Netix Racing Can-Am Maverick). A runner-up result in Class G put the Mostert duo up there with Minnitt/Snyman and the battle will continue during Round 5.
Francois de Wit/Ewald van Rensburg finished third in Class G and were sixth overall in their second SARRC event followed by Peter Walter/Pierre Jordaan and Justin Rutherford and his dad, Archie in similar Can-Am Maverick vehicles. The defending Class G champions, Cecil and Elardus Larney, were sixth in Class G.
Round five of the SA Rally-Raid Championship, continues on Saturday with a short 10 kilometre Pirelli Qualifying Race at 07:30 to determine the starting order for the first of the two 17e kilometre loops that will start at 09:30. All the action will happen from Nampo Park.
Images: Andre Schoeman
