18/05/08 - ESTON -The Sasol Nissan factory team got back to winning ways today when Duncan Vos and Ralph Pitchford cruised to victory in the Production Vehicle category on the Nissan Sugarbelt 400, round three of the Absa Off Road Championship, which ended here today.

Vos and Pitchford, in a Sasol Nissan Navara, produced a commanding performance to finish five minutes and 59 seconds ahead of the Ford Racing Ranger pair of Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer. Third were Eastern Cape 500 winners Mark Cronje and Chris Birkin, in a Castrol Toyota Hilux, with the pair, who won the Friday prologue to determined grid positions, trailing in one minute and 29 seconds behind the Ford.

Two other Toyota crews rounded out the top five overall and the Super Production Class. Fourth were Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn (Micaren Exel Toyota Hilux) with Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst fifth in a Castrol Toyota Hilux.

“Duncan drove a fantastic race,” said Pitchford who was back in the vehicle with Vos, the reigning South African drivers champion, after missing the last event because of an overseas commitment. “You had to concentrate every centimetre of the way.

“It was a tough, tough race but Duncan was terrific and the car was just as good.”

Vos and Pitchford took control soon after the start when Cronje and Birkin picked up a puncture 10 kilometres into the route. The Toyota crew were then hampered by a fuel starvation problem – which cured itself – but were playing catch up for the rest of the race.

Local hero Woolridge and Skjoldhammer were again steadiness personified with their third podium finish of the season. Over the last loop Woolridge/Skjoldhammer were under intense pressure from Cronje/Birkin but were always in control of the situation.

Solid performances saw Kobus van Tonder/Riaan Guelpa (Unifreight Ford Ranger) and Mark Ferguson/Craig West (Ford Racing Ranger) finish sixth and seventh. Ivar Tollefsen and Francois Jordaan (Sasol Nissan Navara) were handily placed when they rolled and dropped back.

They eventually finished eighth ahead of circuit star Anthony Taylor and Robin Houghton in the second Castrol Toyota Hilux. Taylor/Houghton managed to twice roll the Hilux but persevered to make it to the finish and pick up points.

There was early disaster for the third Sasol Nissan Navara in the hands of former SA champion Hannes Grobler and Juan Mohr. They hit a rock 10 kilometres into the race and broke a ball joint.

That put them out of the running but in true Grobler fashion he refused to throw in the towel. The pair made running repairs, limped into the designated service area where the damage was repaired and they finally made it to the finish – albeit around three hours behind the frontrunners.

The other major casualty was another local hero in Alfie Cox. The off road legend and Hennie ter Stege were forced to retire when their Motorite Ford Ranger picked up major suspension damage.

There was a high rate of attrition in Class D with the likes of the Zermatten brothers, Henri and Maurice, in the Ryobi Nissan Hardbody and Cliff Weichelt/Jimmy Goch ( N1 4x4 Toyota Hilux D4D) falling by the wayside. Coetzee Labuscagne and Johan Gerber (Raysonics Nissan Hardbody) kept plugging away to score their second win of the season ahead of Chris du Plooy and Henk van Vuuren in the RFS Toyota Hilux.

Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux (Team Barberspan Toyota Hilux) also scored their second win of the season in Class E. They came home ahead of Ford Racing Ranger crew Jack Peckham and Lucio Santoro, with the Megaworld 4x4 Toyota Hilux driven by Deon Venter and Ian Palmer third for their best result so far this season.

Ends

ABSA OFF ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP
BERTHOLDT/VERMEULEN WIN SPECIAL VEHICLE CATEGORY ON NISSAN SUGARBELT 400

ESTON – Gary Bertholdt finally came good when he and Andre Vermeulen, in the Atlas Copco Porter, won the Special Vehicle category on the Nissan Sugarbelt 400, round three of the Absa Off Road Championship, which ended here today.

The very quick but erratic Bertholdt has in the past so often flattered only to deceive. But this time around he produced a thoroughly professional performance to completely dominate the Friday prologue and the race.

Bertholdt and Vermeulen came in one minute and 56 seconds ahead of reigning South African champions Evan Hutchison and Achim Bergmann in the Motorite BAT. It was their first finish of the season with the pair relieved to finally get some points on the board.

“We needed that,” said Hutchison. “It was a result that has resurrected our season, and we can come from behind, just as we did last season, in the championship.”

Third, just over three minutes behind the Motorite car, were veterans Nardus Alberts and Collin Hunter in the Wraps BAT. It was also their first finish of the season.

Although they were a further 12 minutes in arrears, Lesotho crew John Moore and Tom Claasen also came up with a good result to finish fourth in the Free Spirit Chevy. The top five were rounded out by Michael Whitehouse and Mathew Carlson (Regent Racing BAT) who battled through most of the race with clutch and brake problems.

Bertholdt and Vermeulen, a seasoned rally co-driver, hardly put a wheel wrong over the entire weekend. Bertholdt managed to keep a tight rein on his aggressive instincts to score his first win since the Ford Motorite 400 in 2006.

A terrific performance from brothers Johan and Etienne Bezuidenhout, in the Adenco BAT, saw them finish seventh overall and win Class P. They were sandwiched between Herman Sullwald and Paul Helberg (Sullwald Racing Zarco) and Karl-Heinz and Quintin Sullwald in a similar car.

The Bezuidenhout brothers also came in ahead of Class B winners Jan Kraaij and Tiddo Voogt in the Keymax BAT. It was a first win of the season for Kraaij, the reigning SA co-drivers champion in Class B, and Voogt.

Second in Class P were KwaZulu-Natal crew Don Thompson and Don Blakey (Zarco) who led early on and then picked up a string of punctures. In Class B a steady drive took Simon Beckett and Stephen Harris (Century Racing BAT) to second place ahead of veterans Giel Nel and Deon de Kock in the Luk Africa Truggy.

The honours for perseverance went to Class A crews Shameer Variawa/Siegfried Rousseau (Total Porter) and Brandon Harcus/Richard Leeke in the second Motorite BAT. The Total crew lost wads of time on the prologue after an off road excursion and the Motorite crew rolled.

Both crews started from the back of the grid but put in storming displays. Variawa/Rousseau finally finished 11th overall with Harcus/Leeke 12th overall after another roll on the first of four loops that made up the route.

High profile casualties included championship leaders Terence Marsh (Regent Racing BAT) and Nick and Ryan Harper in he Atlas Copco BAT. Marsh and Groenewald were forced out with a broken gearbox, and the Harpers retired with broken sideshafts.