After the recent Atlas Copco 400, round four of the 2018 South African Cross Country Series that took place outside Bronkhorstspruit, the title battles in the Production Vehicle category are looking to go down to the wire with only two rounds of the series remaining.
This means competitors who stand a chance of championship titles as well as those with the best possible standings in mind, will have to not only pull out all the stops, but will have to do so very swiftly as time is running out to make up for lost ground.
A maiden overall and FIA Class victory for Henk Lategan/Barry White (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux) at the Atlas Copco 400, with team-mates Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy not scoring points at the event as well as a maiden Class T victory for Gary Bertholdt/Geoff Minnitt (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux) resulted in the top five positions looking somewhat different.
De Villiers/Murphy retained their overall lead, but Lategan jumped two places and is now second and trails the Dakar Rally hero by 33 points. This forced Lance Woolridge (NWM Ford Ranger) to third place in the overall driver standings, seven points behind Lategan while Johan Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) lost his podium position. He is fourth, eight points behind Woolridge and although Bertholdt held onto fifth place, he has edged closer to those ahead of him and a mere three points separate him from Horn.
The top five in the overall Navigator Championship has also undergone a shuffle. Murphy still leads and Ward Huxtable, who reads the notes for Woolridge, is still second albeit by only 20 points. White’s rise to the podium means he is in striking distance of Huxtable as a slender three points separate them. Werner Horn, who accompanies his brother Johan, and the only team to have started, finished and scored points at each event so far this season, dropped off the podium to fourth place, but with only five points separating him from White, the battle is on.
Minnitt moved into the top five and trails Horn by a mere three points. With a blanket of only 11 points covering four navigators from second to fifth place and a gap between the leader and the rest that can be closed at one event, the overall navigator’s championship is wide open.
In the drivers’ standings, the positions behind Bertholdt might have stayed the same, but the intensity is higher as the margins now look different. Chris Visser (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux) is sixth and trails Bertholdt by six points while Gareth Woolridge (NWM Ford Ranger), is seventh just 13 points adrift. Terence Marsh, who makes use of various celebrity navigators in the Red-Lined Motorsport Nissan Navara during the season, is eighth followed by David Huddy (Nissan Navara) and Johan van Staden (Elf Renault Duster) jumping from 17th place to 10th after finishing sixth at the recent Atlas Copco 400.
The rest of the top 10 in the overall navigators’ standings could also still change. Visser’s navigator, Philip Herselman is sixth, but only six points separates him from Minnitt while he leads Boyd Dreyer (NWM Ford Ranger) by 13 points. Gerhard Schutte (Nissan Navara) is currently ninth but can overtake Rob Howie who only competed in the first round. Riaan Greyling is 10th.
In the FIA Class championship, the gap between De Villiers and Lategan is even closer as only 15 points separate them. Lategan has opened the gap to Visser who trails him by 34 points while Visser leads Marsh by 14 points. Johan van Staden not only gained seven positions in the overall standings after finishing sixth at the recent Atlas Copco 400, but is now also in the top five of the FIA Class Drivers’ Championship.
Murphy, the FIA Class navigator, will also hope for good results if he wants to secure the title in this class as his lead of 15 points to White is too close for comfort. White is 19 points ahead of Philip Herselman who sits next to Visser.
The scenario in the Class T, Ford versus Toyota, battle is extremely tense. Lance Woolridge still leads after three class victories, but Johan Horn is hot on his heels with only four points separating them. Bertholdt is third and has closed the gap to Horn with 10 points the difference between them.
Huddy is ninth in the overall drivers’ standings and leads the Class S championship with Jannie Visser (Toyota Hilux) second, 15 points behind but only three points ahead of Heinie Strumpher (Toyota Hilux). The situation looks the same for their navigators with Gerhard Schutte in the lead followed by Chris Visser (Jnr) and Henri Hugo.
With only two rounds of the 2018 SA Cross Country Series remaining, these standings can change with the blink of an eye and with not too much time to make up for lost points, the stage is set for some fierce competition.
The penultimate round of the series, the Harrismith 400, takes place at the Eeram Farmers Complex on the outskirts of Harrismith on 14 and 15 September.