A special win
MIDRAND - Special Vehicle champions Evan Hutchison of Kyalami Estates and Danie Stassen of Nelspruit have taken the lead in the Donaldson South African Cross Country Championship.
This after their win in the new Motorite Racing BAT Viper in the third round Toyota Dealer Sugarbelt 400 in Eston near Pietermaritzburg.
It was the champions’ first win of the season and took them four points clear of rivals Clint Gibson and Gary Campbell.
Nick Harper and his son Ryan made it a great weekend for the Kyalami-based Motorite Racing team when they came in third in their BAT Venom Quintin. The Harpers are fourth in the championship.
“We had a clean run today and full marks to Danie for a faultless navigating performance under difficult conditions,” said Hutchison. “This win is very important to us in our title campaign. The next round is the Toyota Desert Race in Botswana, which counts for points and a half, and this weekend’s result is the perfect preparation for what is arguably the most important race of the year. We won it last year on our way to the championship and, of course, we’d like to repeat the feat.”
The Sugarbelt 400 was one of the most popular and well-organised rounds of the championship for many years and returned to the sugar cane fields of the Eston and mid-Illovo areas after an absence of several years. It drew a strong entry of 29 production and 29 special vehicles as well as 17 KZN regional competitors.
A typically demanding route saw several retirements and there were just 29 survivors among the national competitors which included 16 production vehicles and 13 specials.
The next round of the championship is the Toyota Kalahari 1000 Desert Race in Botswana from June 21 to 23.
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