Tough route and wet conditions for Donaldson Cross Country Championship opener
It was a tough day at the office for Special Vehicle crews on the qualifying race for the RFS Endurance, the opening round of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, here today. A tough 196 kilometre route was made even tougher by treacherous conditions courtesy of heavy overnight rain.
The powerful but clumsy space frame cars battled to come to terms with the slippery conditions, and it was no surprise to see a more manoeuvrable Class P entry upstage the premier Class A runners.
While Colin Matthews and Rodney Burke, in the Century Racing CR3, were a trifle lucky to emerge unscathed from a temporary excursion into a dam, the pair have the kind of pace that would trouble the Class A cars even in the best of conditions. At the end of the day the Century racing crew held a two minute and 53 second advantage over former South African champions Evan Hutchison and Danie Stassen in the Motorite BAT Viper.
The Motorite pair, in turn were 23 seconds clear of surprise package Coetzee and Sandra Labuscagne. The father/daughter combination were having their first Class A outing in the Chemserve Porter and could not have asked for a better result.
Fourth were the experienced Lance Trethewey and Geoff Minnitt (LTE BAT Venom), with a second Class P crew in KwaZulu-Natal pair James Watson and John Thompson completing the top five. Watson and Thompson were a minute and 29 seconds behind Trethewey and Minnitt with around seven minutes separating the top five.
“It was a tough day for the co-drivers, and we were a little lucky not to end up stuck in the dam,” Matthews said. “There is a lot out there that can catch you out.”
Hutchison said afterwards it was one of the toughest days he had spent in a race car, and it took a while for he and Stassen to settle down. The biggest smiles of the day, however, were reserved for the Labuscagnes.
“Obviously we are delighted,” said co-driver Sandra. “It didn’t feel as though we were going that quickly, but obviously we did something right. Hopefully we can produce more of the same tomorrow.”
Watson and Thompson again reaped the rewards for a steady performance. Class P was thrown into further disarray when two-time drivers champion and former co-driver champion John Thomson and Maurice Zermatten (Zarco Magnum) ended their race in the dam that almost sank Matthews and Burke.
“We’ll have a look at any possible damage before we decide on whether or not to start at the back of the field tomorrow,” Zermatten said. “It was very disappointing but it was very slippery out there.”
Sixth place went to Jimmy Zahos and Zaheer Bodhanya (Cobalt Stryker) who led home a quartet of Class A Cars. They were followed by Andre Fourie/Hendrik Pienaar (PHB BAT). Brett Parker and VZ van Zyl (Sizanani Plastics Jimco) and Mark Corbett and Juan Mohr who were handicapped when the windscreen fell out the Century Racing CR5.
Other casualties included Class A pair Keith Makenete and Moalosi Borotho (Zarco Lite) and Class P crews John Telford and Victor Ntsekhe (Calcamite BAT) and Grant Watkins and Mark Irvine in a Zarco. They will all start from the back of the field tomorrow.
Race headquarters, the start/finish and the designated service park are all located at the La La Nathi resort on the outskirts of Harrismith, with free public entry to these areas and spectator viewing points along the route. The race will be run over two 251 kilometre loops, with a 20 minute stop after the first lap, and will start at 07:30.
•There was further success for Matthews/Burke when they finished at the front of the Dakar Challenge being run in conjunction with the RFS Endurance. The winners of the Dakar Challenge get a free entry into next year’s Dakar Rally in South America.