Going into the penultimate round of the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship, the Sun City 450 on September 30 and October 1, the Special Vehicle drivers’ championship has developed into a two horse race.
Reigning champion Evan Hutchison (Motorite BAT Viper) has a 17 point lead over Australian Dave McShane, in the Fox Racing Porter, in the drivers’ overall championship, and a 10 point advantage in the Class A stakes. And while Hutchison has one foot in the door to back to back titles, co-driver Danie Stassen is even better off.
McShane will again be accompanied by South African rally champion Elvéne Coetzee on the Sun City race. That means Stassen, with a 32 point lead over Leander Pienaar who co-drove for the Australian in the early part of the season, cannot be overhauled in the navigators’ championship.
Hutchison and Stassen will be looking for their third victory in a row in the Pilanesberg and, on current form, few would bet against the pair. The Motorite crew dominated both the Lichtenberg 450 and the Nkomazi 450 winning the qualifying races and main events.
Jimmy Zahos is out of the championship picture having sold the Cobalt Racing Stryker to former champion Shameer Variawa, and the same applies to Sarel van Biljon (Atlas Copco BAT) who missed the Nkomazi 450. The position in the co-driver championship is a little different with Zaheer Bodhanya – who has taken over navigating duties for Variawa – within catching distance of Pienaar in both title races.
At the very least McShane and Coetzee need to finish ahead of Hutchison and Stassen if the driver’s championships is to go down to the wire. It makes for an interesting situation.
The other form team is the father/daughter combination of Coetzee and Sandra Labuscagne in the 4×4 Mega World Porter. Since missing with Toyota 1000 Desert Race when Sandra was on overseas duty, the pair have twice finished on the podium, and have rocketed up the championship ladder.
Variawa, once the cobwebs have cleared after a lengthy absence, will be a threat and a number of crews return to action on the Sun City event. Among them are Stefan van Pletzen and Jaco Pieterse (Chenowth) who, along with Marius and Jolinda Fourie (PHB BAT) and Andre Fourie/Hendrik Pienaar (PHB BAT), could all challenge for good finishes.
Dion Booyens/Sidriaan de Villiers (BAT) make their first appearance of the season with Ntoate Bereng/Makara Matekane (Aceco) looking for their first points. The experienced Keith Makenete/Taelo Mochebelele (BAT) made a good start to the season, and top of their agenda will be a return to form.
Newly crowned Class P champions John Thomson and Maurice Zermatten have also rocketed up the overall championship ladder, and currently lie third in both the driver and co-driver championships. Thomson and Zermatten have won the Class P championship by a wide margin, and consistency alone earmarks them for a top five finish.
Evergreen Nic Goslar and Andrew Massey (SA Clinics Zarco) are comfortably in second place in Class P, but behind them there is a log jam. John Telford/Victor Ntsekhe (Hellcat) along with Grant Watkins/Paul Mare (Zarco), Guy Henley/Marc de Chalain (CR-2) and Werner Kennedy/Thinus Venter (Aceco) are separated by just 10 points, with Andrew Makenete/Reginald Mothibeli (Zarco Magnum) also in the mix.
Kennedy and Venter won the Vredefort Super Sprint early in the season, but Thomson/Zermatten have reeled of three wins in a row to win the championship by a country mile. Henley and de Chalain could also trouble the champions with the Class P brigade likely to produce some interesting racing.
Race headquarters and the designated service park will be located within the main Sun City complex with free public entry to these areas. The qualifying race to determined start positions is scheduled for 11:00 on Friday, September 30 and the main race at 08:00 on Saturday, October 1.
After a ceremonial start at Sun City competitors will travel to the village of Tweelaagte, 30 kilometres to the west, where they will be flagged away at two minute intervals. The race will be run over two loops with a compulsory 20 minute service halt at the end of the first loop with loop two starting at 12:00.
There is also free public entry to spectator points along the route with easy access from race headquarters. Catering, refreshments and route guides will also be available at race headquarters.
Cross country enthusiasts can also follow the event on the RallySafe app for Apple and Android devices. The app is downloaded free of charge and enables enthusiasts to track the cars on a detailed map, download split times and access results.