The iconic Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race from June 26 to 28, round three of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, has all the ingredients to emerge as the definitive event in this year’s Production Vehicle championship.
The Botswana race represents the halfway mark in the Donaldson series and after two events, Castrol Team Toyota Hilux pair Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie have taken an early grip on the overall and premier Class T championships. Class T is for vehicle over four litres with independent rear suspension and two wins on the trot have given Poulter and Howie a 19 point cushion at the top of both championships.
With 60 points up for grabs over the two heats that will make up the race, the pair could go a long way towards taking a vicelike grip on the championship. By the same token those doing the chasing will recognise the importance those 60 points represent where their own title aspirations are concerned.
Reigning champions Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy, in the second factory Castrol Team Toyota Hilux, and Ford Performance pair Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable are locked together in second place and cannot afford to let Poulter/Howie widen the gap. Taylor/Murphy won in 2013 and last year, and are aware of what it takes to win a race in which they have also been victims of the dreaded sting in the tail.
It is going to be a tense weekend for the factory squads and former champions Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst, in the second Ford Performance Ranger, will also be looking to claw their way back into serious title contention. The two factory squads have so far dominated, filling the first four places in the championship and providing all the podium finishers on the RFS Endurance and Sugarbelt 450.
The Desert Race is the only marathon event on the Donaldson calendar, and the length of the race adds to the difficulty factor for the privateers. If they are going to put a dent in the factory team dominance, someone from their ranks is going to have to produce an exceptional performance.
Youngsters Jason Venter and Vince van Allemann (4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux) and Mpumalanga brothers Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) are the first of the privateers in the championship standings. But, along with the likes of the brother/sister combination of Jacques and Lizelle van Tonder (Uni Freight Ford Ranger), Johan van Staden/Mike Lawrenson (Regent Racing Nissan Navara) and Hennie de Klerk/Johann Smalberger (RFS/Treasury One BMW X3) they will need to considerably up their game if they are to provide the factory teams with any sort of challenge.
The highly experience Gary Bertholdt and Siegfried Rousseau (Atlas Copco Ford Ranger) have made a disappointing start to their campaign and, after two non-finishes, will be seeking redemption. Back-up for van Staden/Lawrenson in the Regent Racing team comes in numbers from Terence Marsh and celebrity co-driver Marius Roberts, Jurgen and Max Schroder and Sean Reitz/Riaan Greyling, also in Nissan Navaras, with the crews all looking for the sort of rewards that consistency and perseverance provide.
Youngster Gareth Woolridge, younger brother of Lance, and Boyd Dreyer get their first taste of the Desert Race in a production vehicle and after a good result on the Sugarbelt 450 won’t be short on confidence. The brothers’ father Neil, now the Ford Performance team principal, won the Desert Race three times and the youngsters have a tough act to follow.
The situation in Class S, for vehicles up to four litres with solid axle rear suspension, is interesting with the class given a shake-up by a first appearance of the season for reigning champions Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux in a Toyota Hilux. Portuguese pair Rómulo Branco and João Serôdio (Regent Racing Nissan Navara) and husband/wife pair Freddie and Sune Kriel (Uni Freight Ford Ranger) have a win and a non-finish apiece to top the points log, but the appearance of Visser/le Roux adds a new dimension to proceedings.
Reliability has not been a forte for the Class S teams this season and another husband/wife combination in Marius and Jolinda Fourie (PHB Toyota Hilux), who will not be competing in the event, are second in the championship with a second and a non-finish. Heine Strumpher and Henri Hugo (Micaren Toyota Hilux) are the only other Class S crew to have scored points so far and, despite joining the fray midway through the season, Visser/le Roux could find themselves championship contenders at the end of the weekend.
Preseason favourites Deon Venter and Jaco van Aardt, in the 4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux, have made a miserable start to their campaign with two non-finishes leaving them without a point. But those 60 points on offer over the weekend could drastically alter the situation, and Class S has the makings of a dogfight with reliability the key factor.
Race headquarters, the start/finish and the designated service park will all be located at the Jwaneng Sport Club and adjoining showground complex. Access to these areas will be restricted, but there is free public entry to spectator viewing points and overnight camp sites along the route.
The 100 kilometre qualifying race on June 26 to determine grid positions will start at 11:30. The first heat on June 27 will be run over two 250 kilometre loops, and the second heat on June 28 will be made up of two 210 kilometre loops.
Heats one and two will start at 8:30 with a compulsory 20 minute service halt at the end of the first lap.