All four Ford Racing Rangers completed the Sun City 400, round three of the 2007 ABSA Off Road Championship in the Pilanesberg this weekend, with two podium positions and valuable points for the drivers, co-drivers and team.
The Sun City event, which has been known for its abnormally high attrition rate, could offer up nothing to stop the Ford Racing Team’s three premier Class SP’s and one Class E 2.5 diesel Ford Rangers.
Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer were top finishers in the Ford Racing Team as they finished in second position overall in the Production Vehicles category. With a difficult start to the year and with no points from the first two rounds, the pair was elated with their result.
“I know our Ford Ranger is capable of winning, and I feel like if I had more time I could have challenged for the overall win at this race. But I’m happy with our result.” A delighted Neil Woolridge said after finishing the gruelling Sun City 400 event.
“I can’t say enough good things about our Ranger and the Ford Racing team. We have the whole package. From our awesome suspension package to the mechanics, I know the Ford Racing Team has what it takes to continue finishing well. The Ranger was flawless from start to finish. It was a really tough race, but it was well marked and well organised. ” commented Kenny Skjoldhammer, co-driver.
Finishing in sixth place overall in the SP and Production Vehicle category was the Barloworld / Absolute Ford Racing Ranger of Manfred Schröder and Ward Huxtable. The pair was on track for a better result but lost some time due to a puncture on the second lap, and some steering maladies which took some time for the Ford mechanics to rectify during a pit stop.
“This Sun City race is always difficult. It seemed like we were in the dust the entire time. We lost some time due to some technical issues and a puncture, but all in all I’m happy with the result. Just to finish here is an accomplishment, and we need the points. The car was simply awesome.” said Schröder.
The team of Brandon Harcus and Juan Mohr in the third Ranger SP had a trying day of racing, with some problems after successfully completing the two previous rounds of the competition high up on the field.
“Knowing that we have a winner in our Ranger, it was rather frustrating having to stop and do some repairs, I have never spent so much time in a cockpit during a race. Finishing the race however was important as we would like to accumulate as many points as we can,” said Harcus.
Mohr again reiterated that the camaraderie between the various competitors is amazing, after another team assisted them, and they returned the favour to the same team later in the race.
Ford Racing’s Class E entry of Jack Peckham and Lucio Santoro finished the Sun City 400 third in class, and are still challenging at the sharp end of the Class E Championship points tables. Peckham and Santoro have consistently finished well in this year’s three events and have accumulated enough points to contend for the Class E Championship victory.
“What a tough race, but knowing how good our car and team is, makes it a lot easier. This Ranger is running so well, we even had enough time to tow a competitor vehicle home, and still finished third.” said Peckham after his podium result.
We would like to thank all our sponsors, Ford, Rockford Fosgate, Ford Credit, Barloworld Armstrong PMB, Time Freight, Absolute, Harden Panel Beaters that help us towards the championships.
