POLOKWANE – The Sun City 400 Cross Country Race with clear skies, a scorching sun and an unforgiving terrain is the setting for the fifth round of the South African Cross Country Series (SACCS).
An outstanding performance from Dakar Rally quad hero Brian Baragwanath and co-driver Leonard Cremer in the Team Pirelli Liqui Molly SA Ford Ranger saw them take sixth place overall.
The Class T rookies produced a steady drive that relegated rivals Henk Lategan and Barry White in the Ford NWM Puma Lubricants Ranger into seventh place.
“This is our best performance of the season and the development work and preparation before each race is starting to pay off,” said Baragwanath.
Baragwanath who took fifth place in Class T, said he and Cremer were running in second place overall at a stage.
“We decided to push a bit in the second loop of the race but ended up having to drive in the dust of another competitor in front of us that cost us valuable time. Because of the poor visibility we’d gotten the dreaded puncture, but I am delighted at how we have progressed and at our best finish result yet,” Baragwanath added.
It is his fifth race behind the steer of the Class T Ford Ranger this year and the second and best finish. There is one more event left on the calendar, on 28 October.
“I along with the assistance of one mechanic are preparing the Ranger mechanically for each race. I enjoy the racing and preparation very much. However, it is a much more challenging task to prepare the vehicle than a quad bike,” says Baragwanath.
Baragwanath says he is looking forward to the final round of the championship and are hoping for another strong performance that would result in a credible result.
The final round of the national Cross Country Series is the Atlas Copco 400 race which is set to take place on 27 and 28 October in the area of Westonaria.
