Crews involved at the sharp end of championship issues in the Special Vehicle category are in for a few sleepless nights before the Atlas Copco Gold 400, the final round of the South African Cross Country Championship (SACCS), on October 27 and 28.
The reason for potential insomnia among the crews is simple: the overall, Class A and Class P driver and navigator championships are up for grabs in the closest championship challenges for many seasons. It makes for an explosive finale to the season.
In the overall and Class A drivers’ championships reigning champion Evan Hutchison (King Price Extreme BAT Viper) has a tenuous two point lead over Marius Fourie (PHB BAT). The two point advantage for Hutchison also applies to the Class A championship with Stefan van Pletzen (Live Lesotho Chenowth) joining the mix 15 points in arrears.
Stassen has a slightly easier passage in the navigator stakes where he is 17 points ahead of Jolinda Fourie in the overall and Class A championships. Ms Fourie co-drives for her husband and Jaco Pieterse, who navigates for van Pletzen, both missed events with Pieterse on the outside looking in when it comes to both the overall and Class A championships.
The Fourie’s have had by far their most successful season in the national cross country championship and have picked up two victories along the way. One of them – the Sun City 400 – was hugely important in that it kept their championship hopes alive when it looked as though Hutchison and Stassen might close out the overall and Class A championships.
For their part van Pletzen and Pieterse have built on a win in the first event of the season and a reputation for consistency. Van Pletzen and Fourie have gone through the season with 100 percent finish records and one more trip to the coalface could bring championship glory.
One, however, would tend to favour Hutchison and Stassen to get the job done. They have been in a similar position before and experience in these sort of situations is worth is weight in gold.
It all boils down to a race packed with interest with the qualifying event coming into play. A poor qualifying race could blow title challenges out of the water before the main race, and a nervous weekend awaits Hutchison and company.
The remainder of the Class A field will be hoping to end the season on a high, none more so than former Class P champions John Thomson and Maurice Zermatten (Zarco Magnum) who probably feel they have not done themselves justice in their first season in Class A. They have the ability to make life uncomfortable for the championship challengers, while Keith Makenete and Ferdie Pieterse (BAT) will be keen to continue some late season form.
There is also an interesting driver change which puts a rose in among thorns. Sandra Labuscagne, who has previously navigated for father Coetzee in the 4×4 Mega World Porter, takes over the driving duties with husband Jaco Jonk calling the notes.
The Class P championship looks to be a straight fight between John Telford/Victor Ntsekhe (Calcamite Hellcat) and Nic Goslar and Andrew Massey in the SA Clinics Zarco. Only four points separates the two crews with Werner Kennedy/Thinus Venter (Live Lesotho Aceco) trailing Telford and Ntsekhe by 18 points.
Telford and Ntsekhe have picked up four wins along the way but a non-finish in the second heat of the Toyota 1000 Desert Race has proved costly. Goslar and Massey have a 100 percent finish record and a win on the Botswana event was crucial to their championship challenge.
There has been little to choose between Telford/Ntsekhe, Goslar/Massey and Kennedy/Venter, who were hit by a non-finish on the Sun City 400, throughout the season. As matters stand, however, it is Kennedy and Venter who could hold the key to the championship.
Race headquarters, the start/finish and the designated service park will be located at the Kloof Country Club, in Glenharvie in Westonaria, with free public entry to these areas and catering provided by the Glenharvie Combination School. There will also be free public entry to numerous spectator areas in what is a compact event.
The qualifying race on October 27 will start at 14:00 and the main race, to be run over two laps of 160 kilometres, at 08:30 on October 28. There will be a 20 minute compulsory service halt and regroup after the first lap and the race will restart at 12:00.
A full weekend of cross country racing will also include the final round of the SACCS Moto championship and the final round of the Northern Regions championship.