The Parys 400, the sixth and final round of the 2019 South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS) that takes place on 1 and 2 November at Parys in the Free State, promises action-packed battles for the final podium positions in the Special Vehicle category and the new Side by Side National Championship (SxS). Spectators can look forward to a weekend filled with spectacular action by the powerful Special Vehicles and the nimble SxS vehicles as there are still a few scores to be settled.
The newly-crowned overall Special Vehicle and Class A champions, Lance Trethewey and Adriaan Roets (LT Earthmovers BAT Venom) will return to the playing field and will go all out to end their season the way they ended the 2018 season and started the 2019 season – with a victory. With a whopping 65 point lead over their closest rivals they will have no pressure, but behind them the fight for the final championship rankings will rage.
The young Moosajee brothers, Taahir behind the wheel and Talha reading the notes in the Dunlop Zone Stryker have done a worthy job in their debut season and stand a good chance to confirm their podium positions after not finishing the previous race at Lichtenburg. They will, however, have their hands full with the experienced John Thomson/Maurice Zermatten (Mormond Zarco Challenger), who won the recent Lichtenburg 400 and level pegging on 78 points, will hope their recent good form will continue.
The team who can throw a spanner in the works, the Voigts brothers, Ralph and André (Voigts Group BAT Venom) will be making a return to the national cross country championship after having last competed in Botswana. They are able and capable of producing results that could take points away from the Moosajee siblings and Thomson/Zermatten and both teams will be on the lookout for the pair. Add to that, the fact that the Voigts have nothing to lose and everything to gain from a good result, an interesting scenario is on the cards.
Victory at a recent regional cross country event will be the motivation Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck and husband and navigator, Jaco Jonck (Total Agri Porter) needed for the final round of the SACCS. Sandra is the 2018 overall and Class A Navigator’s Champion and took over the driving duties from her father, the veteran competitor, Coetzee Labuschagne who is now the team manager. The duo are still on a learning curve and had to handle the disappointment of only finishing half of the events so far this season, but all is not lost, and a good final result will be their aim before closing the photo album on their 2019 season.
In the Class P championship, the eyes would have been on Julio Ferreira/Mohamed Moulson (Aceco) and Nic Goslar/Andrew Massey (Mens Clinic Zarco Magnum) for the title as Ferreira took the lead in the class at the recent Lichtenburg 400. The small points gap did, however, suggest that Goslar still stood a chance on the championship title, but a recent racing incident resulting in a broken leg has put paid to him holding onto his number one position.
Ferreira made use of various navigators during the season while Goslar/Massey scored consistently resulting in Massey having already claimed the Class P Navigator’s Championship title. Moulson is somewhat further down, but still stands a chance to finish the season on the podium.
Two more teams will also aim for good results with Keith and Andrew Makenete (BAT Spec 2) knowing how the game works and KZN regional competitors Trace Price Moor and Shaun Braithwaite (BAT) in their first national outing this season.
In the new SxS National Championship, brothers Werner and Leon Mostert have made history by becoming the first ever SxS national champions, but that does not mean they are going to miss the last action of the season. All teams have been competing with Can-Am Maverick models this year and it will be interesting to see what the rest of the podium will look like after the Parys 400. Christo Rose/Dirk Swart stepped into second place at the Lichtenburg 400 where Wickus Haasbroek/Jurgens Smith did not compete.
Haasbroek/Jurgens are, however, back and would like nothing more than to finish the season in the runner-up position and as only two points separate the two teams, there is lots to play for. While Haasbroek/Jurgens and Rose/Swart battle it out for the runner-up position, they must keep an eye on Dewald van Breda/Johann du Toit who are also within striking range of either the second or third step of the podium. If any of the two teams put a wheel wrong, the runner-up position or the third place can be theirs.
Pieter Walter/Shaun de Villiers will also be back in action and they can confirm their final top five result after not competing in all the events. Theo Erasmus/Edward Odendaal will also be back for more after they won their debut national race at Lichtenburg and another victory will look good in their record books.
The Parys 400 will start and finish on Friday and Saturday, 1 and 2 November at the Parys Airfield where Race Headquarters, the Designated Service Park (DSP) and Spectator Stadium stage will be situated. On Friday teams will complete documentation and vehicle scrutineering before taking on the 45km Qualifying Race at 13:00. The Qualifying Race will determine the starting order for the race on Saturday.
On Saturday, the leading team will open the road at 08:00 with competitors having to complete a 170km loop twice to be declared finishers. There will be a compulsory 30 minute service break at DSP after the first loop and the race will restart at 12:00. There are various vantage points from where spectators will be able to view the action.
Enthusiasts can also follow the Parys 400 on their mobile devices by downloading the RallySafe App at no charge. Information like the route maps, news and results of the day will be available on the RallySafe App during the event.
Entry List – click to download