Nissan aims for Sugarbelt hat-trick

The Donaldson Nissan factory team will be hot favourites to make it three in a row in the Production Vehicle category at the Nissan Sugarbelt 400, round three of the Absa Off Road Championship on 15 and 16 May.

Reigning drivers' champion Duncan Vos and Ralph Pitchford scored polished victories on the Adenco 400 and the Eastern Cape 400, and the pair is the form team. As a driver Vos is equally at home on the fast and more technical routes, with the Sugarbelt event likely to fall into the latter category.

But while Vos/Pitchford may be the favourites, two other Nissan crews are also capable of winning. Veteran Hannes Grobler and Juan Mohr, the reigning co-drivers' champion, can never be written out of the equation, while Norwegian Ivar Tollefsen and Briton Quin Evans are now seasoned campaigners in the series.

The team, however, faces some stiff competition from the Castrol Toyota and Ford Racing works teams. In particular the senior partners in the Ford team, former champions Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer, would love nothing better than a win in KwaZulu-Natal.

The race is again based at the Beaumont Eston Farmers' Club which is a driver and a nine iron away from Woolridge’s Pietermaritzburg base. With top crews able to adapt to prevailing conditions home ground advantage is not always what it is made out to be – but support from the locals and family provides home ground teams with a major lift.

Both Woolridge/Skjöldhammer and Thomas Rundle/Hennie ter Stege will be out in the new Ford Ranger 3.2l TDCI twin turbo-diesel models. Rundle/ter Stege are fresh off a great second place in the Eastern Cape although that result was achieved in a petrol Ford Ranger.

The Castrol Toyota Hilux works assault will be in the hands of Anthony Taylor and Robin Houghton and Hein Lategan, who has had a fiery baptism to his off-road career, and is paired with Chris Birkin. Both crews have had their ups and downs so far this season, but in between both have showed the potential to win events.

The Nissan, Ford and Toyota factory teams will all be supported by privateer teams with Toyota having a big numerical advantage. Stand-out crews in the Toyota ranks are Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst (RFS Toyota Hilux), Hugo/Jaap de Bruyn (Micaren Toyota Hilux) and Gary Bertholdt/Andre Vermeulen in the Atlas Toyota Hilux.

Visser/Badenhorst currently lie third in the championship, the de Bruyns led the Eastern Cape 400 before being hit by a gearbox problem and Bertholdt/Vermeulen made an impressive SP Class debut. George and Sharon Barkhuizen (AIM Toyota Hilux) also produced their best showing so far, while Christiaan du Plooy and Henk Janse van Vuuren (RFS Toyota Hilux) will want to bounce back after illness forced du Plooy to call it a day midway through the Eastern Cape race.

Jaco Swanepoel and Keith Solomon, in the IDM Toyota Hilux, complete a Toyota line-up that has depth and quality. Toyota, the reigning champions, will also be keen to wipe out a 16-point deficit to Nissan in the SA Manufacturers' Championship.

The Nissan factory crews have top quality back-up in the form of Terence Marsh/Pieter Groenewald (Regent Nissan Navara) who will want to put an Eastern Cape non-finish behind them. On the Ford front the dependable Kobus van Tonder and Riaan Guelpa, in the Uni Freight Ford Ranger, and Graham Leith/Mike Lawrenson (Transcor Ford Ranger) are in the same boat.

After two wins in a row the father-and-son combination of Cliff and Louis Weichelt will start favourites in Class D in the N1 Toyota Hilux. Stiff competition will come from Dewald van Breda and Johan du Toit in the Northam Toyota Hilux and Coetzee Labuscagne and Johan Gerber in the Raysonics Nissan Hardbody.

After two disappointing outings the experienced Labuscagne, who once played rugby for the Blue Bulls, and Gerber will be desperate to get some points on the board. It is a situation which is likely to bring out the best in the pair.

An extra string to the Toyota bow comes via Johan and Werner Horn in the Malelane Toyota Hilux. Still missing from the Class D line-up are Ramon and Maret Bezuidenhout who are busy building a new Toyota Hilux.

Deon Venter and Ian Palmer (Megaworld Toyota Hilux) have also picked up two class wins in a row and are the form crew in Class E. There was a good result for team-mates Pikkie Labuschagne and Rickus Erasmus last time out, while KZN pair Baphumze Rubuluza and Khuliele Vakaliza (Ford Racing Ranger) will be keen to do well on home territory.

For reigning class champions Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux (RFS Toyota) it has been a disappointing start to the season. They are another crew who will be looking to get their title challenge back on track while circuit and kart racer Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie (Ferodo Nissan Hardbody) and Louw de Bruin/Riaan Greyling (Ruwacon Ford Ranger) will be looking to bounce back after disappointing results last time out.

A highly-interesting addition to the Class E field is Lance Woolridge, son of Neil, who will be partnered by Kevin Christie in a Ford Ranger. Young Woolridge has been competing at regional level and, by all accounts, appears to be a chip off the old block.

The Friday prologue to determine race positions will start at 13h00. The race on Saturday will start at 08h00 with the start/finish and designated service point all at the Beaumont Eston Farmers Club.