Motorsport Get ready for the battlefield
CROSS COUNTRY SERIES: SECOND ROUND OF ACTION KICKS OFF IN DUNDEE THIS WEEKEND
Giniel de Villiers and Henk Lategan will go head-to-head with their team-mates.
Round two of the 2018 South African Cross Country Series will take place around Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, with the Battlefields 400 race to test crews and vehicles to the maximum.
Topping the entry list and certainly the pre-event victory favourites will be the factory Toyota Gazoo Hilux teams of Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy and Henk Lategan/Barry White.
Chasing them in the premier FIA class will be teams like Chris Visser/ Philip Herselman (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux), Jason Venter/ Jaco van Aardt (4x4 Mega World ARB Toyota Hilux), Johan van Staden/Mike Lawrenson (ELF Renault Duster), plus the RedLined Motorsport team’s Nissan Navaras in the hands of Luke Botha/ Andre Vermeulen, and Dubai pairing Thomas Bell/Patrick McMurren.
Reigning Class T champions Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota) will face a tough challenge from the Ford NWM Ranger teams of Lance Woolridge/Ward Huxtable, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer and Brazilians Christian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti. Others to watch must include Gary Bertholdt/Geoff Minnitt (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux), Richard Leeke Junior/Henry Kohne (BMW X3), Malcolm Kock/Shaun van Sta- den (Toyota Hilux), Jacques van Tonder/Sammy Redelinghuys (Ford Ranger) and Dylan Venter/ Donavan Lubbe (4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux).
Class S should produce a fight between David Huddy/Gerhardt Schutte (Nissan Navara) and Archie/ Kent Rutherford in their Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux.
Lesotho crew Stefan van Pletzen and Jaco Pieterse (Live Lesotho Chenowth) will be the crew to beat in the Special Vehicle category, chased by people like John Telford/Victor Ntsekhe (Calcamite BAT Warbird), Coetzee/ Sandra Labuscagne (4x4 Mega World ARB Porter), Werner Kennedy/ CJ van Pletzen (Live Lesotho Porter), Naeem Moosajee/ Rayhaan Bodhanya (Tyre Rack Stryker), John Thomson/ Maurice Zermatten (Zarco Magnum) and Nic Goslar/ Andrew Massey (SA Clinics Zarco Magnum).
A 45km qualifying race to determine grid positions will start at 1pm on Friday.
The main race on Saturday will get under way at 8am, with competitors to face two laps of approximately 170km each.
There will be a compulsory 20 minute service halt and regroup after the completion of the first lap.
Fans can follow the progress of their favourite teams via the RallySafe App, which can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android devices.
The Battlefields 400 will be run in conjunction with round two of the SxS interprovincial challenge and rounds two and three of the KwaZulu-Natal regional championship.
Race headquarters, start/finish and designated service park will be at the Battlefields Lodge on the outskirts of Dundee, with access to these areas and spectator vantage points along the route free of charge.
Dundee is easily accessible from Durban and Pietermaritzburg, plus major centres in the Free State and Gauteng.
Cross country racing enthusiasts can also follow the progress of their favourite teams via the RallySafe App, which can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android devices. – Off-Road Racing Correspondent