RAC A E E T O T R O Q R U Q E U

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1 RACE TORQUE SUN CITY 400 The recent Sun City 400 once again demonstrated just how popular the Pilanesberg race has remained over the years for both competitors and cross country enthusiasts. For a start there was a record entry of 94 cars for round five of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, with the race run in conjunction with round five of the Northern Regions series. Although there was a slight hiccup with a landowner a fast and dusty route produced some terrific racing and what must surely be a South African championship first. Co-driver Rodney Burke, replacing Alan Smith in The Century Racing CR3 driven by Colin Matthews, sat in a race car for the first time in qualifying. Burke and Matthews then proceeded to take the overall and Class P victories ahead of championship leaders Hermann and Wichard Sullwald, in the Elegant Fuel Stryker, and Mark Corbett and Julian Hardy in the Century Racing CR4. The Production Vehicle category saw the factory Team Castrol Toyota and Ford Racing teams snipe away at each other throughout the weekend. Team Castrol Toyota Hilux crews Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy and reigning champions Duncan Vos and Rob Howie eventually got the better of Ford Racing teams Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst and Lance Woolridge/Ward Huxtable who bounced back after three non finishes. For Taylor and Murphy it meant a hat-trick of wins this season with the pair opening up a 10 point championship lead over Visser and Badenhorst. It would appear, however, that cross country racing and a weekend at one of the world s top holiday resorts is an irresistible lure for motor racing fans.

2 South Africa s love affair with the Dakar Rally has gained momentum with next year s kilometre jaunt through South America little more than four months away. The Imperial Toyota and Ford Racing teams recently announced their line-ups for the world s toughest race. Toyota will again be represented by Giniel de Villiers and German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz who finished on the podium twice in 2012 and again this year. They will be joined by Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie in the second Imperial Toyota Hilux. The multi talented Poulter replaces Duncan Vos who, with Howie, picked up a top 10 finish first time out on the Dakar in Ford Racing will go to the Dakar Rally for the first time with two South African built Ford Rangers for former SA champions Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst and South American crew Lucio Alvarez and Ronnie Graue. Alvarez and Graue have a pretty good Dakar record with 17th in 2011, 5th in 2012 and 10th this year after running as high as third before mechanical issues dropped them down to 27th. The South African entry will be completed by Thomas Rundle and Juan Mohr. The pair won a free entry into the event when they won the Dakar Challenge on the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert race in June. It would appear there will be plenty of support for the South African teams with a large number of Donald Cross Country Championship competitors and enthusiasts set to combine a South American Holiday with following the race.

3 SIDE BY SIDE Only Polaris RZR and Can Am Maverick vehicles Fitted with the 2014 homologated and approved roll cages, built and installed by the approved manufacturers, will be allowed. Polaris and Can Am will provide manufacturer support. A new Side by Side class is to be introduced in the Donaldson Cross Country Championship in The introduction of the new class is in line with SANORA s growth strategy for cross country racing. The new class is aimed at targeting new competitors to our sport and will offer the older quad and motorcycle competitors an alternative and cost effective racing option. The class will compete in the qualifying race and will complete 50 percent or one loop of national events. The category will compete independently and will start after the current national classes. The technical specifications for Side by Side vehicles will be structured to equalise the respective race vehicles and to ensure operating costs are kept to a minimum at all times. The Side by Side category will be exclusively supported by Polaris and Can Am and rules and regulations for the class are in the process of being finalised and will be released towards the end of the season. The broad parameters of Side by Side are: An exclusive strategic partnership has been agreed with Polaris and Can Am, and only the Polaris RZR and the Can Am Maverick will be eligible for Side by Side EVENTS 6 & 7 September Vryburg 400 Vryburg 11 & 12 October Free State 400 Thaba Nchu 22 & 23 November Gold 400 Westonaria

4 A crop of experienced current drivers including former SA champions Chris and Jannie Visser, Malcolm Kock, Gary Bertholdt and Dirk Putter have all followed in their father s footsteps. The Sun City 400 entry list included 11 fathers and sons competing in the Production and Special Vehicle categories, and one father/daughter combination to again demonstrate cross country racing s family ties. The Vryburg 400, round six of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship in North West on September 6 and 7, will be a sentimental event for a number of cross country racing personalities who are growing a little long in the tooth. The Toyota Desert Race was based in Vryburg between 1981 and 1990, and the return of cross country racing to the area will bring back memories for the likes of South African National Off Road Racing (SANORA) chairman Richard Schilling, Bodo Bertholdt, assistant route director Andre Kock and Mick Oosthuizen. Schilling, along with co-driver Fred Levesque in a Chenowth, won the 1990 event and Kock won with Koos Coetzee in a Toyota Land Cruiser in What is particularly pleasing, said Schilling, is a new generation of young competitors who are following their fathers into cross country racing. Quintin and Wichard Sullwald, Lance and Gareth Woolridge, Jason and Dylan Venter, Louis Alberts, Dana Vos and Michael Gouveia are the future of our sport. In this respect the Northern Regions and KwaZulu-Natal championships are hugely important as a nursery for the national series, and SANORA will continue to support and promote regional racing. SANORA is planning a series of navigation sessions prior to events and the first will be held at the Vryburg 400 with Francois Jordaan in the chair. The aim of the sessions is to explain to competitors the changes that have taken place in cross country racing, with particular emphasis on the importance of knowing and understanding the White Book. Other items that will be discussed include: The role of a Competitor Relations Officer The correct way to approach a protest The importance of calculating times on a time card on decontrol sections The objective behind these sessions is to keep the playing field level for all competitors. SANORA is concerned that a number of competitors are not aware of rules and regulations and changes that have taken place. SANORA is concerned that competitors not completely at home with the White Book tend to blame the organisers or race officials when a ruling affects them. It is important that competitors understand why the rules of the game have to be applied.

5 CELEBS The Celebrity Challenge started at Sun City last year when cricketer Vinnige Fanie de Villiers joined Archie Rutherford in the Imperial Automotive Nissan Navara. Aimed at taking cross country racing to a wider audience, the Celebrity Challenge has been an unqualified success. The concept has generated a great deal of electronic and written media publicity for the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, and the celebrities have been great ambassadors for the sport. Natalie du Toit 6 Stefan Terblanche 6 & 5 Heinz Winckler 4 Springbok legend Stefan Terblanche is so far the only celebrity to have competed twice, but will be joined by Proteas star Jonty Rhodes at the Vryburg 400 in September. LEADERBOARD Fanie de Villiers DNF Roxy Louw 7 Rob Simpson DNF Derek Alberts 7 Jonty Rhodes DNF