Glenharvie - Celebrations erupted in both the Ford and Toyota camps following the Atlas Copco Gold 450 national off-road finale this weekend.
Atlas Copco Ford Ranger crew Gary Bertholdt and Siegfried Rousseau won the Gauteng-based event, which was the final round of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship. It was the factory Ford team's third win of the season and a first for Bertholdt and Rousseau.
Bertholdt and Rousseau started the day in third place behind Atlas Copco Ford team-mates Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst, and the impressive Venter/van Allemann combination. At the halfway mark Bertholdt and Rousseau were second behind Visser/Badenhorst and took the lead with the demise of their team-mates.
It was a significant win for Bertholdt and Rousseau. In unofficial scoring it lifted Bertholdt into third place in the driver standings.
TOYOTA TAKES THE TITLE
There was, however, also cause for celebration in the Team Castrol Toyota Hilux camp with Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy clinching back to back Production Vehicle and Class T championships.
Taylor and Murphy, who scored four wins during the season, did well to come through the field after a troublesome 100km qualifying race saw them start from the back of the field.
There was another first when young North West crew Jason Venter and Vincent van Allemann, in the 4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux, scored their maiden podium finish with a polished second place in conditions made tricky by plenty of pre event rain. The final podium place went to Mpumalanga brothers Johan and Werner Horn in the Malalane Toyota Hilux.
CLASS S
The race also settled the Class S title for cars up to four litres with solid rear axles. In a close contest that went all the way to the wire former South African champions Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux (Ruwacon Racing Toyota Hilux) edged out Louw de Bruin/Riaan Greyling (Ruwacon Ford Ranger) and Deon Venter (4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux) who tied with de Bruin in the driver championship.
Venter and Jaco van Aardt won Class S by a wide margin ahead of Visser/le Roux and de Bruin/Greyling who went through the season with a 100 percent record. In unofficial scoring, however, Visser and le Roux took the title by a three point margin.
SPECIAL VEHICLES
It was first time lucky for Sarel van Biljon and Phillip Herselman when they won the Special Vehicle category, coming home, with plenty to spare, ahead of the experienced pair of Mark Corbett and Juan Mohr in the Century Racing CR5.
There was more success for the Century Racing team with Colin Matthews and Rodney Burke, in a CR3, taking the final podium place and winning Class P in a race where tricky conditions led to a high attrition rate.