It will be a case of a last fling for Motorite Racing on the Atlas Copco 450, the final round of the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship, on the West Rand on October 28 and 29.The most successful privateer team in the history of the Donaldson series will be disbanded after the event, but team manager and driver Evan Hutchison (Motorite BAT Viper) will get one more opportunity to add another national championship to a long list of Motorite Racing successes.
Hutchison is involved in a two-way battle with Australian Dave McShane (Fox Racing Porter) for the drivers’ championship in the Special Vehicle category.
Going into the season finale Hutchison has a 10 point lead in the overall championship and a slender three point advantage in the premier Class A title race. Hutchison’s co-driver, Danie Stassen, has already wrapped up the navigators’ championship.
McShane and co-driver Elvéne Coetzee, the current South African rally champion, gave the Australian a lifeline in both championships when the pair won the Sun City 450. Coetzee will again be in the hot seat next to McShane after Leander Pienaar did duty in the early part of the season.
Hutchison and McShane turned the drivers’ championship into a two horse race when Jimmy Zahos and Sarel van Biljon dropped out of contention just when matters started to look interesting. Between them Hutchison and McShane have won the last three races, and will be the outright favourites in a race based at the Kloof Country Club in Glenharvie.
The husband and wife team of Marius and Jolinda Fourie and Andre Fourie/Hendrik Pienaar, in a pair of PHB BAT entries, had good outings on the Sun City 450 as did Stefan van Pletzen and Jaco Pieterse in a Chenowth. They will want to keep the momentum going and given clean runs they are top five material.
Coetzee Labuscagne and daughter Sandra picked up two podiums in a row before the wheels fell off on the Sun City event. The former Blue Bulls scrum-half will this time out be accompanied by son-in-law Jaco Jonk and will want to see out the season on a high note. Sandra will be competing in the Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal, a round of the FIA Cross Country World Cup. It will be her third international outing this season.
However, the biggest threat to Hutchison/Stassen and McShane/Coetzee could come from Class P champions John Thomson and Maurice Zermatten in the Zarco Magnum. They have worked their way into third place in the overall championship, and if consistency is any yardstick the pair will be a threat.
Lourens and Carien Booysen (BAT) make a rare appearance, while Keith Makenete/Taelo Mochebelele (BAT) and Ntaote Bereng/Makara Matekane (Aceco) will be looking for a change in fortunes.
Thomson/Zermatten are outright favourites in Class P but behind them there is potential for drama. Sun City winners Guy Henley and Marc de Chalain (Century Racing CR-2) are within catching distance of second placed Nick Goslar/Andrew Massey (SA Clinics Zarco), and lower down the order there is a log jam.
Only 13 points separate Henley/de Chalain, Grant Watkins/Paul Mare (Zarco), John Telford/Victor Ntsekhe (Calcamite Hellcat) and Werner Kennedy and Thinus Venter in an Aceco. That should lead to some interesting racing.
Enthusiasts will be spoiled for cross country action over the weekend with the Atlas Copco event run in conjunction with the final rounds of the Northern Regions Cross Country Championship, and the SACC Cross Country Motorcycle and Quad Championship. The cars and bikes/quads will compete on separate routes, but the various categories will share a common race headquarters at the Kloof Country Club, in Glenharvie, on the West Rand.
The Donaldson qualifying race to determine grid positions will start at 11:30 on October 28. The main race will start at 08:30 on October 29 with regional competitors flagged away after the last national car.
The start/finish and the designated service area are also located at the Kloof Country Club, with the main race to be run over two loops. There will be a compulsory 20 minute service halt after the first loop, and the race will be restarted at 12:00.
Public entry to race headquarters and spectator points along the route is free of charge. A variety of refreshments will be available at the Kloof Country Club along with spectator guides.
Cross country enthusiasts will also be able to follow the event on the popular RallySafe app for Apple and Android devices. The app is downloaded free of charge from app stores and enables enthusiasts to track the cars on a detailed map, download split times and access results.