2017 sun city 250 round 6 race report s -...
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2017 SUN CITY 250 – ROUND 6 – RACE REPORT
Written by Ferdie Pieterse & Pics courtesy of Nadia@PixelArt
un City made it
back onto the
regional calendar
for the 2017 season as a
combined event with the
National Championship
series. This meant that
there would be no time
trial for the regional
competitors and starting
positions were
determined by the
seeding system, with
competitors setting off in
2 minute intervals
following on after the last
National competitor
started.
Ahead of the crews lay
200 kms of extremely dry
and dusty terrain, with
high
temperatures
thrown into the
mix. Whilst the
DSP (Designated
Service Point)
was at Sun City,
the actual start
took the
competitors
some 27 km away from
the main race hub.
And with the area
experiencing late rains,
the grass was tall and
hiding many dangers,
should the crews stray
from the tracks. Sun City
has always provided the
racers with a unique
variation of terrain and
this year it was no
different.
SPECIAL VEHICLES
OVERALL
Whilst the final results
showed another stunning
victory for the Beers,
Andrew and Zelma in
S
their Class P (BAT Sec 0),
the fight up front was as
fast and furious as we’ve
become accustomed to.
Tales of woe abounded
though and most
competitors faced
problems along the way.
This was Andrew and
Zelma’s third win in a
row, a stunning
achievement in this very
competitive class. The
win was also enough to
place them in an
unassailable position at
the top of the
championship standings
on 168 points, clinching
their first ever
championship title with
one race to go. Coming
home in second was
another husband-and-
wife team, Kobus and
Marinda Fourie, also in a
Class P – BAT Spec 0. It’s
a pity they haven’t
competed the whole
season though because
they would surely have
been championship
contenders based on
current from.
Tony
and
Michael
Gouveia
clinched
the final
podium
position
(3rd)
putting in
a steady
drive.
Whilst the
father-
and-son
combo’s
CRT is
showing
reliability, the win has
eluded them the whole
season. Their efforts are
paying off though as they
find themselves in second
place on the overall log
with 116 points.
Another family combo,
the father-and-son team
of Marthinus and Tiaan le
Roux, produced a
stunning performance in
their Class B, taking
fourth place overall.
Rounding out the top 5
was the Class P entry of
Rikus Prinsloo/Lela Lerm,
dropping one place in the
Championship standings
to third on 112 points,
only 4 points behind
second place.
Francois Smit/Craig
Galvin, last year’s Overall
Special Vehicle
Champions, suffered a
DNF putting an end to
their championship
aspirations as they now
dropped to 4th on the log
with 99 points.
CLASS P
Andrew & Zelma Beer
cinched their 3rd victory
in a row and in doing so;
they also clinched the
Class P Championship,
racking up 203 points in
the process. They found
the route to be technical
and challenging
encountering not only
hard and slippery terrain,
but also had to dodge
some livestock and
spectators along the way.
Their clutch gave up the
ghost with 30 km to go
but in the end, it all
ended well for them.
Kobus and Marinda
Fourie put in a stunning
performance to come
home in second place,
less than three minutes
adrift after more than
two-and-a-half hours’
worth of racing. The hot
conditions plagued a few
teams, one of them being
the Gouveia’s, but after
suffering overheating
throughout the race, they
completed
the class
podium in
third
place,
putting
them in
second place on the Class
P Championship log with
169 points to their credit.
Rikus and Leila took
fourth place in Class P,
but not without hassles.
They took over the lead
from the Beers after an
overshoot in the twisties.
But somewhere along the
line a piece of tree got
lodged into their radiator
fan and caused it to burn
out. With subsequent
overheating problems,
they had no option but to
back off the pace and
make it to the finish.
They dropped one place
in the class championship
standings as well, down
to third on 153 points.
Derick and Pieter de Wit
took fifth place after their
fuel surge tank broke off
and they had to affect
some emergency
roadside repairs. When
they got going again, they
had a clean run but the
time lost proved their
undoing. It’s only a
matter of time before
they should be at the
sharp end of the field,
surely a team to watch in
the future.
Last year’s champions,
Francois Smit and Craig
Galvin suffered their
second DNF in a row with
a broken frame putting
paid to their hopes of a
good finish. As is the
case in the overall
standings, they are also
sitting in 4th place in the
class championship on
135 points.
CLASS B
It was a case of the lone
twin seater versus the
single seater triplets.
Marthinus le Roux & son
Tiaan, versus Peter
Pfumfei, Nishal
Bhana and
Brendan Martin.
In the end, when
the
prover-
bial
dust settled,
father-and-son
triumphed as
problems befell
the lone
rangers.
Peter Pfumfei went into
the race with an 18 point
lead over Marthinus but
that was all
wiped out when
he suffered a
broken steering
and was
stranded out on
the route. With
Marthinus
winning and
Peter recording
a DNF, the two of them
are now tied on points,
each with 142 to their
credit
. This
is not
the
first
time
that
the two of them will
arrive at the last race of
the year, Glenharvie, with
the championship still up
for grabs.
Last season, the pair of
them arrived at
Glenharvie with Peter
having a slender one-
point lead over
Marthinus. Marthinus
took the class victory
there ahead of Peter
to win the class
championship by a mere
two points. Who will
triumph this year? Will
Peter get his revenge?
We’ll have to wait and
see……..
Nishal Bhana was
plagued by electrical
problems after he started
well. It proved his
undoing eventually and
he fell by the wayside.
He’s occupying third spot
on the class
championship ladder, 20
points ahead of Brendan
Martin who’s on 45
points.
Brendan had his fair
share of hassles, battling
with steering rack
problems until it proved
his undoing and he had
no choice but to
withdraw from the race.
He eventually made it
back to the DSP and then
proceeded to turn his
Audi Q7 into an off-road
vehicle to go and recover
his stranded friend, Peter
Pfumfei. The ensuing
rescue proved very
challenging and they
eventually made it back
to Sun City sometime
after 7pm. True
friendship
indeed……
PRODUCTION
VEHICLES
OVERALL
Whilst they found the
going rough and
tough, with no major
problems to speak of,
Hein Kruger/Leonard
Reinecke was victorious
in their Class D Hilux.
Behind them there was a
battle supreme with a
mere 9
minutes and 6
seconds
covering 2nd to
7th places after
more than 3
hours of racing.
Lourens van Wyk/Cois
Mare took second place
in another Class D and
have done enough to
claim the Overall
Production Vehicle
Championship on 153
points. Sun City provided
them with many
challenges such as
a flat wheel,
electronic
problems and with
100kms to go, a
broken rear drive
shaft.
In his first MSA
Northern Regions
race as driver, Sean van
Staden (son of seasoned
racer Johan van Staden)
with co-driver Shane
Davel in their Class D
Isuzu took the final
podium position. A great
performance, finishing
only 32 seconds behind
second place. Their list of
problems included a
collision with a tree, loss
of 4 wheel drive after
100kms, a slipping clutch
and running out of fuel.
He has some big shoes to
fill but it seems that he’s
started off well.
Fourth overall, also the
lone Class E survivors,
was the Theuns du
Toit/Arnold Nortje
pairing. They reported a
clean run with no major
issues and moved up into
third place in the
championship.
Alex and Alan van Rooyen
(Class D) claimed fifth
overall after a flat wheel
and problems with their
jack lost them too much
time to catch up. Jurie
and Pieter du Plessis
(Class D) took sixth,
ahead of Reagan
Austen/Warren Vos
(Class D). After losing
rear wheel drive due to
broken driveshafts,
Austen/Vos continued for
nearly half race distance
with only front wheel
drive to claim valuable
championship points.
They are
in fourth
place
with 92
points
and still
have a scant
chance of
finishing as
high as second. Rodney
Cook/Rikus Hatting (Class
E) suffered their second
DNF for the season after
starting off well. Trouble
hit at the 140km mark
with a broken upper
wishbone putting an end
to their race. They are
sitting in fifth place on
the log
with 86
points.
Okkie &
Juandre
Kruger
(Class E)
set off at
a great
pace and
was set
for a possible podium
placing when the engine
picked up a misfire due to
overheating issues. This
problem finally put an
end to their race and they
had to withdraw.
CLASS D
With Hein Kruger &
Leonard Reynecke taking
the class win ahead of
Lourens van
Wyk & Cois
Mare, the
class
championship
is still up for
grabs. Van
Wyk/Mare is
leading the
charge on
174 points versus Kruger
& Reynecke on 159
points.
Sean van Staden/Shane
Davel completed the
class podium in third.
Fourth was Alex & Alan
van Rooyen and they are
also in fourth place in the
class championship on
125 points. Jurie & Pieter
du Plessis came home
fifth in class and Reagan
Austen/Warren Vos took
sixth, dropping one place
in the class championship
to third on 143 points.
CLASS E
Theuns du Toit/Arnold
Nortje won the class and
with their rivals not
finishing to score any
points, they are topping
the class log at 170 points
and basically just need to
start the last race to
claim the class
championship.
The fight for second place
in the class championship
is still alive through.
Cook/Hatting is second
on 137 points, Frikkie &
Tjaart Steyn third on 127
points and Okkie &
Juandre Kruger fourth on
119 points. Any of these
three crews can still claim
second spot at
Glenharvie.
CONCLUSION
The Sun City 250
certainly lived up
to expectations
providing
competitors
with a great
route with many
challenges. The hot
weather and dry & dusty
conditions put the
competitors and their
vehicles to the test,
but in the end, it was
enjoyed by all.
Whilst some of the
championships have
now been decided,
and congratulations
go out to all those
competitors, there
are still a few titles to be
decided at the season’s
last race, the Glenharvie
250.
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