The Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race, the third round of the South African Cross Country Championship that takes place from 22 to 24 June from the Jwaneng sport complex in Botswana, took its toll in the Special Vehicle category after the tough 444 kilometres today and a few teams will hope to start the final day with the aim to leave Botswana with some handy points towards the championship.
There were problems for the first two teams on the road after Friday’s 48 kilometre qualifying. Stefan van Pletzen/Jaco Pieterse (Live Lesotho Chenowth) was the first Special Vehicle off the starting line, but 115 kilometres into the first of the two loops, their Chenowth just died. They had to dig deep and put their mechanical skills to the test, but lost a lot of time which dropped them to seventh place in the overall standings and fifth in Class A.
Behind them Lady Luck also turned her back on Lance Trethewey/Adriaan Roets when third gear on their BAT Venom broke 50 kilometres into the first loop forcing them to call it a day. It was the consistent father and daughter team of Coetzee Labuscagne and Sandra Labuscagne-Jonck (4×4 Mega World ARB Porter) who won the day from their third place on the starting grid despite not having brakes for the last 90 kilometres of the first loop. After their brake issues were attended to at the designated service point there was no stopping them and they have a healthy 30 minute lead.
Their closest rivals were John Telford/Victor Ntsekhe (BAT Warbird) who started seventh and lost about 20 minutes due to a problematic fuel pump on the first loop. A runner-up result on Heat 1 of this 1000 kilometre race, means lots of points and another day to look forward to.
Kobus and Marinda Fourie (BAT) were the stars of the day as they started stone last and worked their way up to third place in Class A. They are just under nine minutes behind Telford/Ntsekhe.
Local Keith du Toit and Carolyn Swan (Scania White Star Racing BAT) had a good day in the desert and moved up two places to fourth in Class A, only 43 seconds behind the Fouries.
Despite not having fourth, fifth and sixth gears for the best part of the second loop, Nic Goslar/Andrew Massey (SA Clinics Zarco Magnum) won Class P and rounded out the top five overall. During the last 80 kilometres of the second loop of the two loops, they could intermittently select more gears and vowed to be back after fixing the problem.
Another local crew Julio Ferreira/Onakebetse Seemise (Sandmaster) were just over two minutes behind Goslar/Massey after starting ninth in the morning. Werner Kennedy/CJ van Pletzen (Live Lesotho Porter) started from fourth place but dropped back somewhat and were 1 minute 14 seconds behind their team-mates, Van Pletzen/Pieterse (Chenowth).
For a disappointed John Thomson, nothing has gone right. Thomson/Maurice Zermatten (Zarco Challenger) could not complete the qualifying race the day before and had to call it a day during the first loop of today’s racing section after the alternator packed up and they lost fifth and sixth gears before the gear oil pump also decided to pack up. They are hoping to fix their mechanical issues and start the last day tomorrow.
The desert was not good for more teams including Keith Makenete/Ntaote Bereng (BAT Spec 2); Dean Bradbury/Timmy Botes (BAT Venom) who started fifth; Tony Gouveia/Tinus le Roux (CRT) and Lepsy Mosope/Taelo Mochebelele (Zarco Magnum).
On the third and final day of the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race, another 424 gruelling kilometres awaits competitors.