Battle of the behememoths at Weiveld 300

Competitors in the Special and Lightweight Vehicle categories are busy with their final preparations for the kick-off of the 2022 Inland Off-Road Car Racing Championship outside of Parys on Saturday, 19 February 2022. The fields around the Weiveld Farmers’ Hall will resound with the roar of powerful engines as the spectacular spaceframe special vehicles take to the route for the Weiveld 300 – the opening event of the 2022 off-road car racing calendar. 2021 Specials Category winners at the Weiveld 300, Kobus Fourie and Phillip le Roux, have confirmed they will defend their title at the 2022 event in the Class A Star Lubricants/Caltex Havoline BAT Spec 4.

They will face some stiff opposition in Class A as national crews will use the opportunity to test their vehicles at the Weiveld 300 before the start of the national championship series. Among the national competitors that fans can expect to see at the Weiveld 300 are the 2021 Inland Off-Road Championship Class A Winners, Lood du Preez and Tiaan Swart in the Farmers’ Meat Market/Six Gun Grill Stryker. Du Preez competed in his maiden season in the Inland Off-Road Championship last year and was soon a fast fan favourite, sliding his Stryker sideways around corners and powering through the straights. Another treat for spectators will be the KwaZulu-Natal entry of Trace Price-Moor and Shaun Braithwaite in the Tip Top Milk-sponsored BAT Spec 1. Fiercely competitive national competitors, the Tip Top Milk crew will use the Weiveld 300 as a pre-season test for the national series in which they competed with great success in 2021. With two weeks to go before entries for the Weiveld 300 close, there may still be some surprises in store in top Specials Category Class, Class A ranks, as competitors try and get their mighty special vehicles ready for the season. Among those trying to finish their vehicles will be the ex-Dakar campaigner and 2019 Inland Off-Road Class P Champion, Willem du Toit, hailing from Upington. Du Toit will make a wel- come return to the Inland Off-Road Championship in Class A for the 2022 season in the Zelco Motors Porter LS3, supported by Mitsubishi Motors/Wynns /Hi Q Upington and Redira Clothing and is sure to be competitive right off the bat.

2021 Weiveld 300 Class P winners, Keith and Andrew Makenete, still have to confirm their return for 2022 in their BAT Makmobile. They will hope to have their vehicle ready in time to open their 2022 championship points account. Unfortunately, many of the highly-specialised parts used in the special vehicles are sourced from overseas. As with so many other industries, Covid-19 lockdowns have caused disrup- tions in landing the required parts. 2021 Inland Off-Road Championship Class P winners, Tony and Mike Gouveia, will also be hoping for a good result at the Weiveld 300 to open their championship points account for the season in the Gearbox Services and Exchange BAT Spec 1. Always among the top runners, the ever-consistent Gouveias will hope to campaign for the Overall Special Vehicle category Championship in 2022, having narrowly missed out in 2021.

Now that the border regulations are more relaxed than they were in the last two years, the Botswana-based team of Ahmed Hussain and Victor Fincham plan to make a return to regular competition in Class P in 2022 in the AH Racing Aceco. Navigator Victor has won numerous regional championship titles, navigating for various drivers in the Production Vehicle category. He will be hoping to add a Special Vehicle category title to his trophy cupboard this season. Reigning Inland Off-Road Special Vehicle category champions, Karlene Croshaw with her mother, Maryna van Schalkwyk navigating, will make a bid for their third category championship in a row in their Koster Boeredienste/Nashua Yabatho/Rustenburg Engine Centre Raceco Sandmaster. The duo has won two back-to-back championships against the more powerful and highly-modified Class A and Class P vehicles through consistency and immaculate car preparation. They will have to fend off a champion-ship threat from their respective husbands, Sefie van Schalkwyk and Arthur Croshaw, who also compete in Class B in the Koster Boeredienste/Nashua Rustenburg/Rustenburg Engine Centre Sandmaster Marco. Veteran off-road racer, Rob Wark, made his name in the Superpave Single Seater Raceco in the 1980s and 1990s. 2021 saw him return to the sport in the diminutive Class B Mighty Mag single- seater.

The 20-year break does not seem to have affected his off-road skills in any way. He was soon back on pace and in con- tention for Class B honours and is set to be a competitive threat in Class B in the 2022 season. The Weiveld 300 marks the first Inland Off-Road Championship event that spectators are permitted since the initial lockdown in 2020. They are welcome at the Weiveld Farmers’ Hall, subject to strict protocols. It is an opportunity to get an up-close and personal look at the off-road vehicles in action. Follow the event on www.Facebook.com/TIORCSA for news updates, entry lists and spectator maps