Belgian Gregoire de Mevius, who will be making his South African off road racing debut in the Adrenalise Corporate Entertainment BAT, and co-driver ‘VZ’ van Zyl will be the first crew away on Friday’s 40km Prologue to determine starting positions for the Sun City 400, round six of the SA Off Road Car Racing Championship…presented by Absa.
De Mevius was a member of the Proudly South African Nissan team that contested Dakar 2002 and currently drives for the New Dimension X-Raid BMW team that made its debut on Dakar 2003. The Belgian has bought two of the locally designed and constructed BAT vehicles to race in the FIA Baja Trophy Championship and will use the Sun City 400 outing as an orientation session.
Production vehicles fill the next four starting positions with championship leaders Hannes Grobler and Richard Leeke starting two minutes later in the Proudly South African Nissan Hardbody followed at two minute intervals by team mates Giniel de Villiers and Francois Jordaan, Team Ford Racing pair Neil Woolridge and Ken Skjoldhammer and reigning Production Vehicle champions Duncan Vos and Mike Griffith in the third Class T Proudly South African Nissan Hardbody.
The next Special Vehicle off the line will be Queen Motor Spares Tarka 400 winners Gary Bertholdt and Brandon Harcus in the Adrenalise Corporate Entertainment BAT followed by husband and wife Gerhard and Kobie du Plessis (Liebherr Jimco), Gaborone based father and son Rashid and Faizal Noble (Abe’s Furniture Aceco) and 2002 Toyota 1000 winner Greg Daus and Archie Rutherford in the Nashua Mobile Racing Chenowth.
Multiple former Production Vehicle champions Apie Reyneke and Robin Houghton (Castrol Toyota Land Cruiser) round out the top ten.
The Sun City 400 Prologue starts at 13:00 on Friday and the main event, which comprises three laps of a 130km course in the Pilanesberg area, starts at 08:00 on Saturday. Spectators wishing to take a leisurely two-hour drive from Gauteng will not be disappointed. The organisers have laid out a spectator-friendly route and there are numerous vantage points from which to view the action.