Global industrial giant, Atlas Copco, has increased its involvement in South African motorsport with strong emphasis on the SA Off Road Car Racing Championship…presented by Absa where three vehicles now sport its livery.
Atlas Copco Compressor Technique Division and its Industrial Technique Division, which includes world-leading brands such as Chicago Pneumatic air tools, AEG Power Tools and Milwaukee, have been long time supporters of the Jeep off road team that has competed with success in the championship for some years.
In an historic move the company announced that a two car Atlas Copco backed team would in future compete in the Special Vehicle category with veterans Henry Kirstein and Renier Jooste in the ex-Clint Gibson Class B BAT and Jooste’s son and daughter in-law, Ge’ and Caroline, in a Class A Sandmaster.
The Atlas Copco team made its debut on the recent Toyota Dealer 400 in the Lydenburg area. Kirstein and Jooste were well placed in the race but ran out of fuel while the husband and wife crew managed to only complete 30km of the race before a water hose ruptured.
The Atlas Copco / Chicago Pneumatic Jeep that is driven by Scott Abraham and co-driven by Richard Carolin has been in contention all season for the runner-up spot in the factory dominated Class T for unlimited Super Trucks, which will only be decided at the Carnival City Casino 400 on November 14 and 15.
Scott Abraham is now based in Germany where he is under contract to the prestigious New Dimension X-Raid BMW Team that competes in the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies and Dakar and missed the Lydenburg outing. His place on the Lydenburg event was taken by Stratford Voogt who with co-driver Richard Carolin qualified 16th fastest overall. They were well placed in the initial stages of the race but a broken pin on a rear brake caliper caused the brake pads to fall out. The incident cost them over 30 minutes but by the end of the second lap they had moved from last back up 20th overall only to have a torque converter oil seal fail and put them out of the race.
“We accept that motor racing and off road racing in particular is a tough game and that incidents such as those that befell the three Atlas Copco backed vehicles on the Toyota Dealer 400 do occur from time to time,” said Robert Kritzinger, Business Manager Portable Compressors. “The two bright yellow Special Vehicles and the Jeep, which is affectionately referred to as the ‘red monster’, create a huge impact wherever they go and we are delighted to be associated with two extremely well run privateer teams.”
The Atlas Copco vehicles will be entered for the Carnival City Casino 400 on November 14 and 15 and fans will have an opportunity to see them in action during the Prologue, which gets underway at 12:00 on Friday and at various convenient spectator points during the main event that starts at 08:00 on Saturday.