After seasons of near total domination in the Production Car category of the Absa Off Road Championship, the Sasol Nissan Navara team is coming under increasing pressure and will again be under the whip on the Limpopo 400, round six of the series, on September 12 and 13.
The Sasol Nissan squad has won four of the five events run so far this season with reigning champion Duncan Vos scoring three times and former champion Hannes Grobler once. The other win went to Castrol Toyota Hilux crew Mark Cronje and Chris Birkin who, along with team-mates Anthony Taylor and Robin Houghton, will again be a threat.
Although Nissan have done most of the winning, the pace of the Castrol Toyota team will be a worry for the Nissan entries – and they will also be wary of the championship challenge being mounted by veteran Ford Racing Ranger pair Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer. In the overall and premier SP Class title chases Woolridge is only eight points adrift of Vos in the driver’s championship, while Skjoldhammer leads the co-driver stakes.
That is a situation that has arisen because Ralph Pitchford, who normally sits alongside Vos, has missed a couple of events through overseas commitments. The pace of Cronje/Birkin and the threat poised by the hugely experienced Woolridge and Skjoldhammer, sees to it that the Nissan squad will be under pressure on the Limpopo 400 race.
Grobler and Juan Mohr and Cronje/Birkin are not yet out of the championship picture and a fascinating battle is likely to unfold. Taylor and Houghton could throw their hat into the ring in what this season has turned into an ultra competitive class.
In an interesting development Norwegian Ivar Tollefsen is not available for this event and team manager Glyn Hall will take over the driving duties with Briton Quin Evans alongside him. Hall is a former South African rally champion but would be the first to admit that his role this weekend will be more tactical than attacking.
Back-up for Woolridge/Skjoldhammer comes from the improving Mark Ferguson and Craig West in a second factory Ford Ranger, and the consistent Kobus van Tonder and Riaan Guelpa in the Unifreight Ford Ranger.
Toyota currently have a slender 14 point lead over Nissan in the prestige manufacturers championship, and will be looking for good results from a powerful support line-up led by Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst (Castrol Toyota Hilux) and Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn in the Micaren Exel Toyota Hilux.
Toyota’s SP Class challenge is further bolstered by the debut of Chris du Plooy senior and Ewald van Rensburg in the RFS Toyota Hilux. They will join regulars in Jaco Swanepoel/Keith Solomon (IDM Cement Toyota Hilux), George and Sharon Barkhuizen (Ruwacon Toyota Hilux) and Mike Thomsett/Brian Haviland in the Feltex Imperial Toyota Hilux.
As is the case in the Special Vehicle category, this is a race that could enhance or kill off championship hopes. For crews it is going to be a white knuckle weekend.
Non-finishes for Coetzee Labuscagne/Johan Gerber (Raysonics Nissan Hardbody) and Chris du Plooy junior and Henk van Vuuren, in the RFS Toyota Hilux, at the Sun City 400 saw brothers Henri and Maurice Zermatten (Ryobi Nissan Hardbody) move into an eight point lead in the Class D championship. But a win for drivers champion Cliff Weichelt and Nic Els (N1 4×4 Toyota Hilux D4D) brought them back into the championship picture.
There is a 20 points spread between first and fourth in the championship, but with three events left anything could happen. Expect a good battle to develop in Limpopo.
Down in Class E Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux, in the Team Barberspan Toyota Hilux, have taken control of matters. Ewald van Breda and Johann du Toit (Potch Plastics Toyota Hilux) and the factory Ford racing pair of Jack Peckham/Lucio Santoro both need good results this time out.
Thomas Rundle and Brian Roberts (Barden Tyre Services Nissan Hardbody) and Peckham/Santoro are up against a horde of Toyota Hilux entries. Deon Venter/Ian Palmer (4×4 Megaworld Toyota Hilux) and Malcolm Kock/Johan de Klerk (Team Barberspan Toyota Hilux) have had their moments and will be joined by Daniel Swanepoel/James Moss in an IDM Cement entry and experienced Rob Gurney and Paul Gonlag.
Documentation and scrutineering will take place at Meropa Casino & Entertainment World from 10h00 to 13h00 on Friday, September 12. The race proper will start at the Ysterberg Pleasure Resort at 08:00 on Saturday, 13 September with the route to be run over two loops of 180 kilometres each. The designated service point and the finish will be at Meropa Casino & Entertainment World which will also host the prize-giving.
