A nail-biting weekend awaits teams competing in the SA Rally-Raid Championship when they take on the INGCO Parys 400 and the INGCO Vaal 400, round four and five of the SARRC on 16 and 17 August respectively, and with two rounds of the series testing them on the same weekend and double points up for grabs, the pressure will be palpable and the action intense.
The INGCO Parys 400 and the INGCO Vaal 400 will consist of a short Castrol Qualifying Race early in the day to determine the starting order followed by approximate 400-kilometres of racing sections on each day, with valuable points towards the overall and class championships awarded after each round. And with the SARRC now at the halfway mark, those in the lead will feel the pressure while teams who still have their eye on the prize, will hope for their luck to turn.
Only two teams have claimed the overall victory so far this season with Giniel de Villiers/Elvéne Vonk winning the season opener with their Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mates, Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings clinching the victories after the second and third rounds to take the overall lead in their Toyota Hilux IMT EVO vehicles. Although Lategan/Cummings have opened a little gap to De Villiers/Vonk in second place, they are far from safe at the front while various furious battles will continue behind them as only a small margin of points separate the field.
Lategan/Cummings as well as De Villiers/Vonk, who have had their share of misfortune, will aim for good results and another victory, while a first win this season will also be the aim of team-mates, Guy Botterill/Dennis Murphy who have been the runners-up on two occasions and will hope their though start to the season is something of the past.
It has been a troublesome season so far for the defending champions, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford NWM Ranger T1+) who have experienced niggling issues, while their team-mates Lance Woolridge/Kenny Gilbert have also had to work their way up the leaderboard after a tricky start. Both teams are in the overall top six with Lance/Gilbert currently third overall and Gareth/Dryer sixth, however, two trouble-free races accompanied by a good haul of points, could go a long way towards the rest of the season.
The leading eight teams in the overall standings all competing in the FIA Ultimate T1+ Class include the two sibling pairings of Fouché and Bertus Blignaut and their #TeamHilux Rally-Raid team-mates, Johan and Werner Horn, who have had their ups and downs but scored consistently. Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer (Century Racing CR7 Twin Turbo) finished on the podium at the recent TGRSA Safari 1000 and will hope to do so again and better their eighth place on the overall standings.
Chris Visser/Albertus Venter (Red-Lined Motorsport REVO T1+ GTR) could not finish the recent marathon event, which dropped down to just outside the top 10, a position the team are adamant to improve on.
Looking at the rest of the competition in the Ultimate T1+ Class, good results from teams who are not in the running, could upset the current standings. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s young star, Saood Variawa and his French navigator, Francois Cazalet (Toyota Hilux IMT EVO) have been amongst the frontrunners while Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford NWM Ranger T1+) have also produced consistent results. Jayden Els, who will be making use of the navigating services of Johann Swemmer (King Price Xtreme SVR), was on the podium at the season opener, but will also hope for his luck to turn.
Not to be discounted are the three Century Racing CR6’s in the hands of multiple South African champion Lance Trethewey and his 16-year-old daughter Taylor-Paige (LT Earthmovers CR6), accomplished Special Vehicle driver Lood du Preez/Juandre Kruger (Farmers Meat CR6) and former Dakar podium finisher Mark Corbett and his 16-year-old son Luke (Century Racing CR6).
The battles in the Adventurer T1 Class have been intense and the small margin of points separating the teams is a perfect indication of how tough it has been. And with three different teams on the top step of the podium, a definite winner cannot be predicted. The winners of the second round, Johan de Bruyn/Adriaan Roets (Red-Lined REVO T1), currently lead the class championship followed closely by the Heinlein duo of Gerhard and Rudi in their Red-Lined VK56 Evo2 who have been consistent although still without a victory.
The defending champions, Eben Basson/Leander Pienaar (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid Toyota) could not complete the first two races but triumphed at the TGRSA Safari 1000 and will be on a serious mission to continue their title chase. The father and son team of Johan and Sean van Staden (Renault Duster) are also in the mix and no one dare put a wheel wrong. The Red-Lined Motorsport team will be boosted with the entry of Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson (Red-Lined VK56).
The German driver, Jϋrgen Schröder, will again compete in the PS Laser Nissan Navara VK50 with Rikus Fourie in the navigator seat. Schröder/Fourie are one of seven teams with an international flavour albeit the only one competing in the Adventurer T1 Class as his son and the winner of this class at the season opener, Daniel, will be competing in the Ultimate T1+ Class with navigator, Henry Köhne reading the notes in the PS Laser VW Amarok.
The two Red-Lined Motorsport teams with the Dutch crew, Dave and Tessa Klaassen and Rients Hofstra and South African navigator, Wade Harris (Red-Lined REVO T1+ GTR) will again be participating as will another Dutch crew, Rik van den Brink/Gydo Heimans (Century Racing CR7 Audi Twin Turbo) and will all be strutting their stuff in the Ultimate T1+ Class where a total of 21 teams have entered while the young Dutch lady driver, Puck Klaassen has secured the services of ace navigator, Gerhard Schutte and will be in action in the Challenger Class with the Can-Am Maverick Rotax.
The SSV Class has attracted only two entries. Season regulars, Darron Gudmanz/Quintin Lessing will try to bag their first set of points while Rupert Fourie/Morné van Rensburg, who finished second at the PS Laser Promac event, will be in action with both teams competing with Can-Am Mavericks.
All 30 teams have entered for both rounds of the SARRC on 16 and 17 August.
The INGCO Parys 400 and INGCO Vaal 400 will start with the Castrol Qualifying Race at 07:10 followed by Stage One of Two at 08:30. The Start and Finish of both races as well as Race Headquarters and the Designated Service Point (DSP) will be at Stonehenge River Lodge.
Route maps for each day will be available on https://www.facebook.com/sarallyraidchampionship, https://www.sacrosscountryracing.co.za/ and Telegram. The race can also be followed on the RallySafe App, available as a free download from the iStore and Google PlayStore or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarallyraidchampionship; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarallyraidchampionship/ and Twitter: @SACCS.Auto
Published by: SA Rally-Raid Championship – Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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