Desert Race could be the turning point of the season
ALL THE INGREDIENTS: RACE PITS CHAMPIONS AGAINST CONTENDERS IN TIGHT DECIDER Only marathon event on Donaldson calendar with daunting length, which heightens difficulty factor for privateers.
This weekend’s Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race – round three of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship – has all the ingredients of being the definitive event of the 2015 Production Vehicle Championship.
The Botswana race represents the halfway mark in the series and, after two events, Castrol Team Toyota Hilux pair Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie have taken a grip on the overall and Class T championships.
Two wins on the trot have given Poulter and Howie a 19-point cushion at the top of both championships.
Reigning champions Anthony Taylor/Dennis Murphy, in the second factory Castrol Team Toyota Hilux, and Ford Performance pair Lance Woolridge/ Ward Huxtable are locked together in second place.
It will be a tense weekend for the factory squads. And former champions Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst in the second Ford Performance Ranger will also like to claw their way back into serious title contention.
The Desert Race is the only marathon event on the Donaldson calendar.
And the length of the race adds to the difficulty factor for the privateers.
If they are going to put a dent in a factory team’s dominance, someone from their ranks will have to produce an exceptional performance.
Youngsters Jason Venter/ Vince van Allemann (4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux) and Mpumalanga brothers Johan/ Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) are the first of the privateers in the championship.
Chasing them will be Jacques/ Lizelle van Tonder (Uni Freight Ford Ranger), Johan van Staden/ Mike Lawrenson (Regent Nissan Navara) and Hennie de Klerk/Johann Smalberger (RFS/Treasury One BMW X3).
Others to watch will include Gary Bertholdt/Siegfried Rousseau (Atlas Copco Ford Ranger), plus the Regent Racing team’s Terence Marsh/Marius Roberts; and Jurgen and Max Schroder and Sean Reitz/Riaan Greyling, all in Nissan Navaras.
Class S, for vehicles up to four litres with solid axle rear suspension, will see the first appearance of the season of reigning champions Jannie Visser/Joks le Roux in a Toyota Hilux.
Portuguese pair Rómulo Branco/João Serôdio ( Regent Nissan Navara) and husband/wife pair Freddie and Sune Kriel (Uni Freight Ford Ranger) have a win and a non-finish apiece to top the points log. But the appearance of Visser/Le Roux adds a new dimension to proceedings.
The weekend’s stakes will be high for Special Vehicle category teams.
Former champions Evan Hutchison/Danie Stassen (Motorite BAT Viper) and Lance Trethewey/Geoff Minnitt (LTE BAT Venom) are locked together at the top of the overall and Class A championships.
Both crews have scored a win and a second and find themselves 20 points clear of Brett Parker/ VZ van Zyl in the Sizanani Plastics Jimco.
Fourth-placed Jimmy Zahos/ Zaheer Bodhanya (Cobalt Racing Stryker) are 35 points behind the two leaders.
There is also a tie at the top of the Class P championship. A win and a non-finish apiece has installed 2013 champions John Thomson/Maurice Zermatten (Zarco Magnum) and KwaZulu-Natal pair James Watson/John Thompson in a BAT at the top of the log.
The class is also pepped up via the appearance of veteran Richard Carolin, out of action for a number of seasons, and brothers Ian/Gene Boshoff.
The years will roll back for Carolin, partnered by Andrew Massey, in the Zarco Magnum normally campaigned by Nic Goslar, who won the Desert Race 20 years ago with his brother Buks.
Race headquarters, the start/ finish and the designated service point will again be located at the Jwaneng Sports Club and the adjoining showground facility.
Friday’s qualifying race to determine grid positions will be run over 100 kilometres and will start at 11.30am.
Heats one and two on Saturday and Sunday respectively will be run over two laps of approximately 250 kilometres – with a compulsory 20-minute stop after the first loop.
Th0se races will start at 8.30am.