Cross Country action kicks off
NEW SEASON: TOTAL TO FEATURE AS MAIN SPONSOR
We enjoy strong bonds with our stakeholders, says Rousseau.
Cross Country racing will be alive and well in South Africa this year. That message came across firmly in Johannesburg this week, when the 2017 national car, motorcycle and quad championships were launched.
The first event of the season will kick off proceedings in Lichtenburg on March 31, with the season to consist of six rounds in South Africa and Botswana.
On all occasions, the cars, motorcycles and quadbikes will run in conjunction with one another, sharing common venues.
The new season will see the sport enter into a partnership with Total South Africa, which will be the energy service provider for the series.
In a one-year deal, Total Excellium will supply fuel for both championships, with Total joining the cross country family along with Ford and Toyota, who are long-standing partners in the car championship.
“We enjoy strong bonds with our stakeholders, and this applies not only to Ford and Toyota but also to motorcycle distributors Yamaha, KTM and Husqvarna,” said SACCS CEO Siegfried Rousseau.
The series will be known as the South African Cross Country Series Powered by Total, and will comprise of six events with five held in South Africa and one in Botswana. Each event will have a qualifying race on day one that determines the starting positions for the main race on day two. There are five classes within the car category, including both four- and two-wheel drive racing cars.
The motorcycle category has 11 classes that include both four- and two-wheel bikes. Both Toyota and Ford announced their motorsport plans this week.
After winning last year’s South African championship, Toyota will tackle the 2017 Cross Country title chase with two all-wheel drive Toyota Gazoo Hilux bakkies, manned by defending champions Leeroy Poulter/ Rob Howie and Giniel de Viliiers/ Dennis Murphy.
Toyota Gazoo Racing SA will also compete in two rounds of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, as part of their testing and preparation for their ongoing Dakar Rally project.
The 2016 World Cup was won by Nasser al-Attiyah and navigator Matthieu Baumel, behind the wheel of a South African built and developed Toyota Hilux.
Al-Attiyah/Baumel will again be in action in a Toyota Hilux during this year’s world cup, and will be joined on a number of rounds by De Villiers and Poulter.
Toyota Gazoo Racing SA will compete in the Qatar Cross Country Rally from April 17 to 22, plus the Rally of Morocco from October 4 to 10. In addition, the team will compete in the Silkway Rally, taking place from July 8 to 22.
The event will start on Moscow’s Red Square, before traversing Kazakhstan, and finish in the Chinese city of Xi’an – a distance of nearly 6 000km.
In local rallying, Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle will campaign a locally built and developed Toyota Etios R2, and the pairing have already won the season-opening Tour Natal Rally last weekend.
The Ford team will again be run by Neil Woolridge Motorsport, teaming up with Puma Lubricants as their main sponsor. They will enter three Class T Ford Rangers, to be manned by Lance Woolridge/ Ward Huxtable, Gareth Woolridge/ Boyd Dreyer and former rallyists Henk Lategan/ Barry White. – Off Road Correspondent