Toyota is already assured of winning the Class E championship, but up for grabs is the prestige South African Manufacturers Championship. Here Toyota currently trail Nissan by just 33 points, and it sets up an intriguing contest by two manufacturers who have dominated off road racing in recent years.
But Toyota will be without one of their star performers. Mark Cronje, who along with co-driver Chris Birkin, has been a frontrunner in the Class D championship in the Castrol Toyota Hilux 2.7i, has been ruled out of the event for medical reasons.
Cronje suffered concussion in a huge accident on the recent Toyota Dealer 1000, and will sit out the season’s finale. It is a blow for Toyota Motorsport who will be relying on their contingent of Class D and Class E teams to pip Nissan at the post in the Manufacturers Championship.
“I feel okay but medical advice is that I should sit this one out,” said Cronje. “It is disappointing, but I will be there to urge on the rest of the guys.”
One of those will be Cronje’s younger brother Gavin who shares another Castrol Toyota Hilux entry with multiple South African champion Robin Houghton. The pair currently is fourth in the Class D championship, and a good finish on the Carnival City event will be a priority.
“With the Manufacturers Championship still open, there is a big responsibility on us to finish – and finish well,” said Houghton. “It is a challenge but we think we are up to it.”
Paolo Piazza-Musso and Ockie Fourie, in a second Castrol Toyota Hilux entry running in Class D, are in the same boat. After a disappointing season, the pair is eighth in the Class D standings.
“We have had more than our fair share of problems this season,” said Piazza-Musso. “Now it is time to show what we really can do, and a good result for us could not come at a better time.”
Toyota is assured of winning Class E, but both the drivers and co-drivers championships are up for grabs. Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst (Tyco Trucks Toyota Hilux 2.7i) currently lead both championships with a close fight having developed on the driver front.
Here Visser leads Zane Pearce, in the Castrol Toyota Hilux, by just nine points. On the co-drivers front Jaap de Bruyn, who shares a Toyota Hilux with son Hugo, trails Badenhorst by 19 points and has a mathematical chance of lifting the title.
“It is an interesting situation that is going to produce a highly competitive race,” said Pearce who lost his 100 percent finish record and Class E championship lead on the Toyota Dealer 1000. “Both Chris and I will have one eye on the championship and the other on the Manufacturers Championship, so both of us need good finishes.”
To offset to some degree the loss of the Cronje/Birkin combination, Toyota will debut their new Castrol Toyota Hilux in the super Production class. No crew has yet been nominated.
“The Toyota Dealer 1000 turned into a major disappointment for us,” said Toyota Motorsport manager Wammy Haddad. “We have made matters difficult for ourselves, and it has put an enormous amount of pressure on crews in the final event.
“We are going to have to dig deep, but everyone knows what is expected of them and we have the ability to bounce back.”
