Local Wartburg racer, Lance Trethewey and navigator, Adriaan Roets, took their second consecutive victory of the season when they won the Special Vehicle Category of the Sugarbelt 400, the second round of the 2021 South African National Cross Country Series (SACCS) that took place in the Eston / Mid Illovo area outside Pietermaritzburg this weekend.
Competing in the colours of Schalk Burger Motorsport in their BAT, Trethewey/Roets started the first of the two 160 kilometre loops on Saturday from pole position in the Special Vehicle Category after they posted the fastest time at the Pirelli Qualifying Race that determined the starting order for Saturday. This was also their second Class A victory this season for the 2019 SA champions.
It was, however, quite an eventful race for the team as they had two flat wheels and during one of the changes, the big vehicle fell off the jack. They managed to finish the two day race totalling 370 kilometres in a time of 6 hours, 27 minutes and 32 seconds.
They beat second-placed Clint Gibson/Alaric Smith (Dirt Sport Stryker) by seven minutes and five seconds, but Gibson/Smith also experienced quite a race. The team started the race on Saturday way down the field after a problematic Qualifying Race and worked their way up through the field. They even stopped to pull Production Vehicle Category competitors, Ernest Roberts/Henry Köhne (Red-Lined Motorsport) out of the mud during the second of the two 160 kilometre loops.
With the first two places on the podium taken up by Class A teams, the final step on the overall podium belonged to Nico du Rand/JG Claassen (Waterworld Can-Am Maverick) who won Class G for Side-by-Sides. Their total time (06:47:30) include a five minute time penalty they incurred on Friday for a speeding violation. Du Rand/Claassen were followed by two more Class G teams with the two 18-year olds, Kent Rutherford and navigator, Kabelo Mokanyane (Enza Construction Can-Am Maverick) finishing second in class and fourth overall in the Special Vehicle Category.
The youngsters got themselves stuck in the second loop and were towed out by Bazil Bezuidenhout/Rikus Hattingh (Moto-Netix KEC Racing Can-Am) who finished just behind them in fifth place overall and third in Class G. Boela Botes/Jay Pretorius (Schalk Burger Motorsport Porter) had the race of their lives after they were the last team to tackle the race on Saturday. Dusty conditions as well as a slippery route after overnight rain added to the challenge, but Botes/Pretorius persevered to finish third in Class A and sixth overall.
Gary Campbell and his daughter, Jess (BAT) were the lone competitors in Class P. They were seventh overall and were followed home by Lood du Preez/Tiaan Swart (Farmers Meat Stryker) who were fourth in Class A. Du Preez/Swart’s time of 08:06:09 included a seven minute time penalty for a speeding infringement on the 50km Pirelli Qualifying Race on Friday. They were also one of the last teams to start the race on Saturday morning and had their work cut out for them battling it out in the dust and tight and twisty conditions.
Defending champions, Tim Howes/Don Thomson (Tim Drew Property Developers BAT) started the race on Saturday from the second place behind Trethewey/Roets after a good Qualifying Race on Friday, but they had to settle for the ninth place overall while they finished fifth in Class A. The Larney brothers, Cecil and Elardus (Can-Am SxS) competed in only their second SACCS event and the notorious Sugarbelt 400 proved to be a baptism of fire for them.
They suffered two broken rims during the Pirelli Qualifying Race on Friday and started at the back of the field from where they had to battle it out. Their bad luck continued on the first of the two loops and a broken clutch as well as two punctures resulted in them losing loads of time. They had a better second loop and were classified as finishing 10th overall and fourth in Class G.
The Sugarbelt 400 took its toll on the vehicles in the Special Vehicle Category and five teams could not finish the race while Sandra Labuschagne-Jonck and husband, Jaco Jonck (Moto-Netix KEC Racing Porter) did not start on Saturday. Lady Luck also turned her back on Class A competitors John Thomson/Maurice Zermatten (Mormond Zarco) as well as the former Class G SxS champions, Werner and Leon Mostert (Schalk Burger Motorsport Can-Am) who had to call it a day when the right rear brake disc bolts broke early into the second loop while their team-mates, Marko Himmel/Francois Schoonbee retired with a broken suspension.
Theo Erasmus/Edward Odendaal (Can-Am) were the fastest SxS after the Pirelli Qualifying Race and made a good start, sadly only seven metres into the second loop they were forced to retire with a broken ball-joint. Geoff Minnitt/Gerrie Prinsloo, also competing with a Can-Am Maverick SxS, could also not see out the distance of the Sugarbelt 400.
Despite it being a tough and challenging event, competitors enjoyed the Sugarbelt 400 with its unique race route.
Images: Nadia Jordaan