CONSISTENCY PAYS OFF FOR BANKFIN OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CREWS Consistency had its reward for two crews during a long and arduous Bankfin Off-Road Championship. –
– By finishing the Carnival City Casino 400, the final round of the series, on the East Rand over the weekend Eastern Cape veterans Greg Harvey and Boy Stone and East Rand veteran Giel Nel were the only competitors to finish all eight events on the championship calendar. Harvey and Stone, in the Lexus powered Queen Motor Spares Jimco, ended up gathering in the Special Vehicle overall and Class A drivers and co-drivers titles, while Nel (Luk Africa Truggy) failed by one point to retain his Class B drivers championship. –
– For Harvey it was his third championship triumph with Stone taking his second title, with the Eastern Cape crew finishing fifth overall in the Special Vehicle category on the East Rand event. The pair never won an event during the season, but Harvey emulated his 1998 feat of finishing every event – with sheer consistency the key to their triumph. –
– “Marcus Taylor and Marc de Chalain could have caught us in the overall championship, and when we heard they had dropped out of the event we slowed the pace,” said Stone. “There was no point in taking chances, and we also wanted to preserve that 100 percent finish record.” –
– For a disappointed Nel, who finished fourth in Class B, it was not enough to lift him ahead of Taylor. The final points tally, with Nel having to drop his worst score during the season, left him a single point shy of the KwaZulu-Natal driver. –
– “It was a little disappointing, but I gave it my best shot,” said Nel. “At least I had the satisfaction of finishing every event.” –
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