The Pietermaritzburg crew and former SA Rally-Raid Champions, Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer won the extremely tough and challenging VAPS HCV Vryheid 400 in their Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid Evo Plus on Saturday, 1 November after two days of racing in the plantations, farmlands and valleys in the Vryheid area. The race was described by competitors as one of the toughest with tricky navigation and a route that tested man and machine with a massive rainstorm on the final day, adding to the complicated conditions.
The crew led the race after winning the 17km Falken Wild Peak Prologue on Friday, 31 October and went on to post the fastest time after Stage One (50km). With the best combined times for the day, they started Stage Two on Saturday in the lead and had to open the road for the two 163km racing sections. The route forced competitors to keep their wits about them at all times and to stay 100% focused while they had their work cut out in the cabins – a mistake could turn into disaster.
To add to the trying scenario, organisers were forced to halt the race on the final stage after 133 kilometres due to a severe rainstorm. The Force Majeure rule was applied and with more than 75% of the route completed competitors would still earn full points for the event.
Woolridge/Dreyer were the first of the few teams who reached the finish before the race was halted and despite a puncture on Saturday, they clinched their second victory of the season and took the overall lead in the championship standings with one event remaining. Woolridge commented that it was the most difficult race he had ever done, and the team were elated with their victory on home turf.
Their total race time (06:18:43) was, however, only 53 seconds faster than Saood Variawa/Francois Cazalet (Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux IMT EVO) who chased hard after starting the race on Saturday from sixth place. They posted the best time on Saturday but were not able to make up for the time lost on Friday.
Like Variawa/Cazalet, Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Hilux T1+) also took the challenge to the Ford team, but a few small mistakes during the first half of the race saw them finishing third overall and in Ultimate FIA T1+, albeit a mere 43 seconds further adrift.
They had a little breather to their team-mates, Johan and Werner Horn who kept their title hopes in the Ultimate T1+ SA Class high by winning this class for the second time this season after starting the final day from 15th place. Their total race time was 06:28:55 and were followed by the remaining two Castrol NWM Ford Rally Raid Evo Plus teams with the Brazilians, Marcos Baumbart/Kleber Cincea rounding off the top five (06:31:09), two minutes 46 seconds ahead of Wors Prinsloo/André Vermeulen.
Prinsloo/Vermeulen started Stage Two from seventh place but stopped 30 kilometres into the stage to pull the stricken Blignaut brothers, Fouché and Bertus (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Toyota Hilux T1+) out of a ditch after the team experienced gearbox issues and then overshot a corner that saw them ending up in a ditch – and out of the race.
There was some luck for Guy Botterill/Oriol Valdearcos (TGR Hilux IMT EVO) who were running with the leaders after a disappointing prologue on Friday, but mechanical trouble in the second half of the day, saw them having to call it a day. However, with the race halted at the 133km mark due to the extreme weather conditions and the results worked back to this point, their luck turned somewhat as they made the cut-off to finish seventh overall (06:37:26) and sixth in Ultimate FIA T1+. They were followed by Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Motorsport Revo T1+) who finished second in SA T1+ (06:51:55).
The two Heinlein families in similar Red-Lined VK56 vehicles rounded out the top ten with Gerhard and dad Rudi finishing ninth overall and winning the Adventurer Class (07:04:17) while younger brother Nickus and Jaco Kriel were 10th (07:10:33) and walked away with the silverware as runners-up in the class.
A time penalty and some bad luck on the first day did not keep Danie Ludick/Denzil Williamson (Red-Lined Revo T1+) off the Ultimate T1+ SA podium. They finished third in the class and were 11th overall with Johan and his son, Sean van Staden (Renault Duster) third in the Adventurer Class and 12th overall. Behind them, five more Red-Lined vehicles managed to complete this tough event with the next four teams all competing in the Adventurer Class.
Johan de Bruyn/Adriaan Roets (Revo T1) were 13th overall followed by Martin van der Vyver/Rikus Hatting (Revo) and the two VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Teams, Abrie and Iaan Olivier and Peet Victor/VanZyl Jonck, both bringing their VK50 vehicles home in one piece after starting the race from 17th and 18th places respectively.
The Namibian team, Marko Himmel/Francois Schoonbee (Red-Lined Navara Evo) started in Vryheid as the Ultimate T1+ SA class leaders, but a sick Himmel had to simply see out the weekend. The team started the final day from the back of the field and managed to finish the race in 17th place overall while they scored valuable points being fourth in Ultimate T1+ SA.
Jayden Els/Johann Swemmer (Red-Lined Revo T1+ GTR) started the final day from fourth place and had a good run for the best part of the race until engine trouble stopped them in their tracks. Gary Bertholdt/Philip Herselman (Toyota Hilux IMT EVO) also ran into mechanical issues as did SARR newcomer, Sa’aad Variawa/Zaheer Bodhanya (TGR Hilux IMT EVO).
The sixth and final round of the season, the Northam Platinum Bushveld 400, takes place on 21 and 22 November and a busy three weeks await teams to be prepared for the final onslaught..
Published by: Charmaine Fortune
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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