Vryburg, North West Province - Former South African off-road champion Chris Visser made a dream return to the SA Cross Country championship at the weekend
He and Ford Racing crew-mate, Japie Badenhorst, won the Vryburg 450, round six of the series.
Visser was making his first appearance of the season after neck surgery for an injury sustained on the Dakar Rally earlier this year, and gave the factory Ford Racing team its second win of the season, finishing a slender 21 seconds ahead of championship leaders Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy, in the works Toyota Hilux.
And to top it all, Visser's cousin Malcolm Kock and navigator Johann Burger took the final place on the podium in a privateer Hilux in only their second appearance of the season, obviously revelling in home-town conditions.
"There's not much I can say," said Visser. "It was a dream result, but it got a little tight towards the finish. It was just great to be back in the car, and a win was a bonus."
For Taylor and Murphy a conservative approach earned them some breathing space in both the overall and premier Class T championships. They went into the weekend with a slender three-point lead over Mpumalanga brothers Johan and Werner Horn (Toyota Hilux), in the overall standings.
The Horns fought back well to finish eighth overall and sixth in class after a troubled qualifying - but with only two rounds left, it handed the advantage to Taylor and Murphy.
Taylor admitted afterwards: We weren't taking any chances after our hiccup on the Force Fuel 450; from a championship point of view it was a good result for us."
A solid drive by Kock and Burger saw them finish 23 seconds clear of North West youngsters Jason Venter and Vince van Allemann (Toyota Hilux) who came up with an impressive performance to finish in the top five for the first time, well clear of Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie in the second factory Toyota Hilux, who also recovered well after a disappointing prologue.
CLASS S
Venter also claimed bragging rights over his father, Deon, who came in sixth overall and first in Class S with Jaco van Aardt in a Toyota Hilux, in no danger from veteran former SA champions Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux in their Toyota Hilux.
Visser and le Roux, however, tightened the screws on Class S championship leaders and team-mates Louw de Bruin and Riaan Greyling An ultra-fast route with long straights left the diesel powered Ford at a distinct disadvantage, with the pair holding on for sixth in class.
The Horns trailed in behind Visser and le Roux, and were followed by Etienne Nienaber and Dewald Ferreira (Toyota Hilux) who were third in Class S in their first season of national competition - only to be hit with a 35 minute penalty that dropped them way down the pecking order.
That lifted the ever steady Terence Marsh and actress Hlubi Mboya, competing in the Celebrity Challenge, into ninth overall in Marsh's Nissan Navara, just ahead of Christiaan du Plooy and Henk Janse van Vuuren (Ford Ranger).
CLASS D
Prologue winners Dewald and Anton Nienaber (Toyota Land Cruiser) took a comfortable class win ahead of Diederik Hattingh and Gary Austin in a Ford Ranger. The Nienabers were always in control, with Hattingh and Austin on the back foot after problems in qualifying.
A third consecutive win took Gareth Woolridge, in a Polaris, to the top of the new Class G standings ahead of Brian Capper's similar machine. Woolridge's navigator Boyd Dreyer is also closing in on Jaco Swart, who sits alongside Capper, in the 'hot-seat' standings.
The route and high temperatures took a heavy toll on the Class G brigade. Chris Wood and Peet Markram, in another Polaris, were the only other finishers, and were more than 50 minutes behind Woolridge and Dreyer.
SPECIAL VEHICLES
The son and father combination of Quintin and Kallie Sullwald (BAT Venom)tightened their hold on the Special Vehicle standing with second in Vryburg, while reigning champions Evan Hutchison and birthday boy Danie Stassen, in a BAT Viper barely kept their championship hopes alive with their first win of the season after another tense duel between the two crews ended with only 20 seconds separating them.
The Sullwalds were happy to consolidate their championship standings with an advantage which has stretched to more than 30 points. With 25 points for a win and with only two events remaining on the calendar, the Sullwalds are currently in the box seats.
Hutchison said: "This is a win that was a long time in coming, but it was time for a little luck to run our way. We had a good battle with the Sullwalds, and now we need a really strong finish to the season."
A string of crews picked up punctures with everybody complaining about the dust and the heat which hovered in the high 30s all weekend. The Sullwalds were one of the teams hit by a puncture that also broke the wheel rim.
"We battled to replace the rim, and it cost us the race," said Sullwald junior. "But for all that it was a good result for us and the other teams must do the chasing in the last two rounds."
The final place on the podium went to Force Fuel 450 winners Laurence du Plessis and Gielie le Roux (Zarco) who edged out Gerhard and Hardus du Plessis (Jimco) in a sibling driver battle. The Du Plessis bothers and Hutchison are separated by just six points in the overall championship, and the final two rounds promise some interesting racing as the trio chase after the Sullwalds.
A steady run in the hot and dusty conditions and an ultra fast route took Botswana pair Keith du Toit and Robbie Coetzee, in a BAT, into the top five - not a bad result for Coetzee, on his maiden cross-country outing.
A rearguard action after a disappointing prologue saw Stryker crew Wichard Sullwald and brother-in-law Byron Sykes (in only his second time out) rescue sixth place, albeit a long way behind Du Toit and Coetzee.
CLASS P
Seventh overall and another Class P win went to Swazi based driver John Thomson and Gauteng co-driver Maurice Zermatten in a Zarco. Consistency has always been a forte for Thomson and Zermatten, taking the pair a step closer to back-to-back Class P titles.
Thomson and Zermatten were at the front of a quartet of Class P cars that all earned top 10 places. They were followed by KwaZulu-Natal pair James Watson and John Thompson (BAT), Keith Makenete and Moalosi Borotho (Zarco), and Nic Goslar and Andrew Massey, also in a Zarco.
The last of the Special Vehicle finishers were Stefan van Pletzen and Jaco Pieterse in an ageing Aceco. Perseverance also saw the pair into the top 10.