The #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit, Round three of the 2022 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), started at the Soetdoring Restaurant near the Gauteng town of Bronkhorstspruit on Friday, 19 August. The Pirelli Qualifying Race, however, proved troublesome to many of the crews, with the organisers opting to revert to driver seedings to determine the starting order, rather than using the results from the qualifier, which saw many crews deviate from the route due to dust early on.
Former champions Tim Howes and co-driver Gary Campbell were the odds-on favourites to the win on the opening race loop of the #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit, but the pair managed only the second-fastest time in their Timdrew Properties BAT Spec 4. They were bested by Lood du Preez and Chris Visser Jnr driving the #A99 Farmers Meat Stryker.
Keith Makenete and brother, Andrew posted the third-fastest time in their BAT Makmobile, rounding out the Class A podium. There was trouble for Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck and husband Jaco, who struggled with brake problems throughout the opening loop, going fourth-fastest in their KEC BAT Viper.
Class G saw Geoff Minnitt and co-driver Gerhard Snyman power their Hydro Power Equipment Can-Am to first place on the day, while former champions Cecil and Elardus Larney recorded the second-fastest time. Third place went to Peter Walter and co-driver Pierre Jordaan in their Can-Am Maverick.
The big news in Class G was that former champion Werner Mostert and son Ian were penalised for over speeding in a controlled zone, dropping them down the order. A similar fate befell Francois de Wit and Ewald van Rensburg.
Class P had Guy Henley and co-driver Bryan Schwim reap the rewards in the P51 CR-2, with Quentin Lessing and Noel Acton going second-fastest in their CR-T.
Day two of the 2022 #TeamHilux Rally-Raid Bronkhorstspruit gets under way at 8am on Saturday, 20 August. The day consists of two race loops of 160km each, with a compulsory stop of 30 minutes at the DSP mid-route. The race HQ is situated at the Soetdoring Restaurant near the Gauteng town of Bronkhorstspruit, and access to all areas is free of charge.
Images: Andre Schoeman
