At stake will be the prestige South African Manufacturers Championship. The championship is one of two remaining title issues to be settled in the season’s finale, with Nissan and Ford crews involved in the other clash.
A late flurry on the recent Toyota Dealer 400 in Mpumalanga saw Nissan close the deficit on Toyota who has led the championship for most of the season. Going in to the Ford Carnival City 400 the gap is a mere 20 points, and there will be plenty of pressure on factory and privateer crews from both camps.
In a category where most of the championship issues were settled last time out, the situation adds a little spice to proceedings. So, too, does the other title fight in the Super Production Class where overall champions Hannes Grobler and Francois Jordaan, in the Proudly South African Nissan Navara, are locked in a tie with Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer in the works Ford Racing Ranger.
With the Ford pair boasting a 100 percent finish record this season and having to drop one score, the scales are tilted in favour of Grobler and Jordaan completing a double. The situation does, however, provide a little extra motivation for Woolridge and Skjoldhammer, along with Rob Gurney and Graham Stainbank in the second factory Ford Ranger, on an event co-sponsored by Ford.
With Duncan Vos and Ralph Pitchford, in the second factory Nissan Navara, winning the Toyota Dealer 400 Nissan lead Ford by five wins to two this season. That also provides both crews with a little added incentive, but it is the two factory Castrol Toyota teams who will be itching to get into the winners circle.
Not much has gone right this season for Mark Cronje/Chris Birkin and Bevan Bertholdt/Robin Houghton in the pair of Castrol Toyota Hilux V6 entries. A win at Carnival City would go a long way towards brightening Toyota’s season, and would play a role in the manufacturers fight.
In terms of the championship Toyota will also be looking for a big effort from their Class D representatives. Nissan will be in the same boat and with the championship in mind have called in extra troops, but will be aware that Toyota crews have won every event so far this season.
Champions Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst (Tyco Trucks Toyota Hilux) have won four times and Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn (Castrol Toyota Hilux) twice, with a lone win going to Cliff and Louis Weichelt in the Bosal Toyota Hilux. The Weichelt’s have had a tough time of it lately and, along with Visser/Badenhorst and the de Bruyn’s will be looking for a good end to the season.
Coetzee Labuscagne and Johan Gerber, in the Raysonics Nissan Hardbody, have been the most consistent of the Nissan entries. Patchy form has plagued the BB Auto Nissan entries of Arnold du Plessis/Johan Knox and Jurie and Andre du Plessis, and all three crews would relish putting an end to the Toyota domination.
Veteran campaigner Henri Zermatten and brother Maurice and Topcar pair Deon Schoeman and Jan Sime, both in Nissan Hardbodys, have been added to the Nissan fold for this event. The Zermatten’s specialize in consistency, and Schoeman and Sime have the ability to rock the boat.
Down in Class E it will again be a case of Toyota hordes, with a little help from Nissan, ganging up on champions Manfred Schroder and Ward Huxtable in the Ford Racing Ranger. A surprise first ever class win for Toyota pair George and Sharon Barkhuizen (Ruwacon Toyota Hilux) on the Toyota Dealer 400 could not stop Schroder and Huxtable from clinching the championship.
While the Ford pair will want a win on their own event, their Toyota rivals will want another taste of victory. Factory crew Brian Martin and Ockie Fourie, in the Castrol Toyota Hilux, will lead the assault with help from the likes of Jannie Visser/Joks le Roux (Toyota Hilux), brothers Mark and Stuart Moffat (Bosal Toyota Hilux) and former track racers Jaco Swanepoel and Fabio Tafani in the IDM Cement and Club Refrigeration entries.
After a couple of recent disappointments Thomas Rundle and Brian Roberts, in the Barden Tyre Services Nissan Hardbody, will also be looking to end the season on a high note.
