Two races set for this weekend’s title chase battles
The start and finish of both races as well as the race headquarters and the Designated Service Point (DSP) will be at Stonehenge River Lodge Parys. Entrance is free, so come and meet the participants and experience all the racing action right here on your doorstep.
A nail-biting weekend awaits teams competing in the SA Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC) when they take on the INGCO Parys 400 and the INGCO Vaal 400, round four and five of the SARRC on August 16 and 17 respectively. With two rounds of the series testing them on the same weekend and double points up for grabs, the pressure will be palpable and the action intense.
The INGCO Parys 400 and INGCO Vaal 400 will start with the Castrol Qualifying Race at 07:10 followed by stage one of two at 08:30.
The start and finish of both races as well as the race headquarters and the Designated Service Point (DSP) will be at Stonehenge River Lodge Parys. Entrance is free, so come and meet the participants and experience all the racing action right here on your doorstep.
The qualifying races will determine the starting order followed by approximate 400-kilometres of racing sections on each day. With the SARRC now at the halfway mark, those in the lead will feel the pressure while teams who still have their eye on the prize, will hope for their luck to turn.
Only two teams have claimed the overall victory so far this season with Giniel de Villiers/Elvéne Vonk winning the season opener with their Toyota Gazoo Racing teammates, Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings clinching the victories after the second and third rounds to take the overall lead in their Toyota Hilux IMT EVO vehicles. Although Lategan/Cummings have opened a little gap to De Villiers/Vonk in second place, they are far from safe at the front while various furious battles will continue behind them. Lategan/Cummings as well as De Villiers/Vonk, who have had their share of misfortune, will aim for good results and another victory, while a first win this season will also be the aim of teammates, Guy Botterill/Dennis Murphy who have been the runners-up on two occasions.
It has been a troublesome season so far for the defending champions, Gareth Woolridge/Boyd Dreyer (Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford NWM Ranger T1+) who have experienced niggling issues, while their teammates Lance Woolridge/Kenny Gilbert have also had to work their way up the leaderboard after a tricky start. Both teams are in the overall top six with Lance/Gilbert currently third overall and Gareth/Dryer sixth, however, two trouble-free races accompanied by a good haul of points, could go a long way towards the rest of the season.
The leading eight teams in the overall standings all competing in the FIA Ultimate T1+ Class include the two sibling pairings of Fouché and Bertus Blignaut and their #TeamHilux Rally-Raid teammates, Johan and Werner Horn, who have had their ups and downs but scored consistently. Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer (Century Racing CR7 Twin Turbo) finished on the podium at the recent TGRSA Safari 1000 and will hope to do so again and better their eighth place on the overall standings.
Chris Visser/Albertus Venter (Red-Lined Motorsport REVO T1+ GTR) could not finish the recent marathon event, which dropped down to just outside the top 10, a position the team are adamant to improve on. Looking at the rest of the competition in the Ultimate T1+ Class, good results from teams who are not in the running, could upset the current standings. All 30 teams have entered for both rounds of the SARRC on August 16 and 17.
Route maps for each day will be available on https://www.facebook.com/sarallyraidchampionship, https://www.sacrosscountryracing.co.za/ and Telegram. The race can also be followed on the RallySafe App.
