Team Ford Racing is expecting a good performance at the sixth round of the Absa Off Road Championship and their title event – the Ford Motorite 400 in Limpopo. With two of the pairings in a tie for fourth place in the driver’s championship, fans can expect fireworks as both will be aiming to better their positions. Not to mention a third premier Class SP Ranger that is only points behind, and a Class E entrant that leads its class by ten points.
It’s a true case of current SP champion versus debutante as Neil Woolridge and newcomer Brandon Harcus both find themselves on 49 points in the championship. Both Woolridge and Harcus are feeling confident in achieving results at the event, and both intend on climbing higher towards the top of the points ladder.
“We’ve had a six week break in the calendar, and I think we’ve put the time to good use,” says Woolridge. “We’ve been doing some developing on the cars and some significant changes have been made. I’m really looking forward to the Ford/Motorite 400, where we aim for a good result.”
Harcus says – “I really think the changes we’ve made to the trucks will pay off, and I’m confident that we now have even better trucks to race with. Good results are definitely on the cards for us.”
Brandon Harcus will find himself listening to the instructions shouted from female navigator Marcel Tretheuey, rather than his usual navigator Juan Mohr. Due to family commitments Mohr will have to miss this event, but this gives Tretheuey the perfect opportunity to be the first woman navigator to win in the SP category.
Harcus and Tretheuey are not strangers having won the Sun City 400 in 2006 in the Special Vehicle category. If the team can pull off a win in the Class SP Ranger, she will become the first female navigator to have won in both Special Vehicle and Production Vehicle classes.
Lying only three positions behind in seventh place in the championship is the Absolute/Barloworld SP Ranger of Manfred Schröder and Ward Huxtable. The pairing have shown blistering pace and at times been quickest in the field this year. Schröder and Huxtable hope to keep it together at the Ford Motorite 400 and also climb a few notches in the championship log.
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“I just want to get through the race without any trouble. It’s Ford’s title race and we’d love to finish well.” commented Scröder.
Jack Peckham pilots Team Ford Racing’s Class E Ranger and currently leads the class by ten points after completing the Amatole 500 without the assistance of his navigator, Lucio Santoro who became ill mid-race. In the overall points table, Peckham also finds himself in a deadlock with team-mate Schröder with 25 points each.
Team Ford Racing would like to thank their sponsors; Ford, Ford Credit, Rockford Fosgate, Sign Solutions, Time Freight, Absolute and Harden Panel beaters for all their support.
