The new Class T Ford Racing Ranger of Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjöldhammer won this weekend’s Queen Motor Spares Tarka 400, but the result will only be official once the Ford has passed a technical inspection by MSA’s off-road racing car commission.
The SBM-built Class T Ford Racing Ranger of defending production car champion Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjöldhammer scored a debut victory at the Queen Motor Spares Tarka 400, the sixth round of the South African off-road car championships, at the weekend.
The Ranger excelled in the rough, muddy and wet conditions in the Queenstown/Tarkastad area to cross the finish line a comfortable four minutes and 33 seconds ahead of the Class T Nissan Hardbody of Giniel de Villiers and Francois Jordaan, and almost 25 minutes ahead of third-placed Buks Carolin and Hennie ter Stege in a Class T Mitsubishi Pajero.
However, the provisional overall results, announced at the prize-giving in Tarkastad on Saturday night, are subject to a Motorsport South Africa (MSA) enquiry regarding the eligibility of the Woolridge and Skjöldhammer vehicle, which has reportedly not yet passed a technical inspection by the MSA Off-road racing car commission.
Should the Ranger be excluded, multiple touring car champion De Villiers and co-driver Jordaan will find themselves within reach of the championship, after they were robbed of what would have been a third overall victory of the season by two punctures.
“We twice took the lead on the first loop by passing Woolridge and Skjoldhammer on sheer pace, but they passed us when we overshot at a gate and hit the post,” said De Villiers.
“The second time they passed us when we had the first puncture, and although we covered the second loop in about six minutes less than they did, the second puncture delayed us again. If it wasn’t for the time lost changing the wheels (about six minutes each) we would have won by six or eight minutes,” he added.
In contrast, Woolridge was ecstatic about the Ranger’s debut performance. “This is absolutely fantastic. We built this car with the intention of competing in both the South African national championship and the international races and it is even better than we expected. It was always going to be competitive but to win first time out is more than we hoped for,” he said.
“We had an excellent dice with the Nissan throughout the race,” explains Skjöldhammer. “The cars are very evenly matched. The Nissan was quicker in places but, on the day, we had the best all-round package. The new car really is excellent but there is still room for improvement.”
The Petronas Isuzu KB320 of Mark Corbett and Juan Mohr took Class D honours, while Manfred Schröder and Jack Peckham won Class E and finished tenth overall in their 2,5-litre turbodiesel Ranger. The special vehicle category was won by Franz Czepek senior and Steven Parker in a Class A Chenowth.
