One more for Leeroy and Rob
SOUTH African champions Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie scored their second victory of the season with a comfortable win on the Battlefields 400, round two of the South African Cross Country Auto Series (SACCS) which took place in and around Dundee in KZN over the weekend.
The race was run in treacherous conditions with a wet route compounded by freezing temperatures.
A lone puncture was the only hiccup for Poulter/Howie who again dominated the premier FIA class for cars conforming to FIA specifications. The pair came in over three minutes ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team-mates Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy.
“It was slippery, fast and hairy,” was Poulter’s laconic comment at the finish. But apart from the puncture the pair never put a foot wrong.
The final podium place and the win in Class T for cars above four litres with solid axle rear suspension, went to Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable in the Ford NWM Puma Lubricants Ranger. The pair finished ahead of Woolridge’s brother Gareth and Boyd Dreyer in a second NWM Puma Lubricants Ranger.
Fifth place overall and third in Class T went to Hennie de Klerk and former South African champion Achim Bergmann in the Treasury One/Atlas Copco VW Amarok. They came in ahead of brothers Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux) who won the season opener in Lichtenburg.
Class S for cars up to four litres with solid axle rear suspension provided Richard Leeke junior and Henry Kohne (Ford Ranger) with a maiden national championship victory.
South African champions Evan Hutchison and Danie Stassen won the Special Vehicle category in the King Price BAT Viper, ahead of second-placed Lance Trethewey and Geoff Minnitt in the LTE BAT Venom.
The motorcycle class was won by Ross Branch (Brother Leader Tread KTM).