MOTORITE TEAM AIMING TO STRIKE BACK ON SUN CITY 400
Top of the agenda for reigning South African champions Evan Hutchison and Danie Stassen, in the Motorite BAT Viper, at Sun City 400, round five of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, on Friday and Saturday will be to get back to the top of the Special Vehicle championship.
A disappointing non finish on the Toyota 1000 Desert Race in Botswana saw Hutchison and Stassen relinquish the overall championship and Class A leads to Phalaborwa crew Hermann and Wichard Sullwald. There is, however, a tight situation at the top of both championships.
The Sullwalds have a 2,5 point advantage over Hutchison/Stassen with KwaZulu-Natal crew Clint Gibson and Gary Campbell a further 1,5 points in arrears. After points and a half being awarded for the Botswana event scoring reverts to the conventional system for the rest of the season, with pressure building on the front runners.
“The Desert Race result was very disappointing,” said Hutchison. “We set ourselves very high standards and from that point of view it was unacceptable.
“We have the opportunity at Sun City to bounce back so we need to grab it with both hands.”
Hutchison added that on the plus side the gap to the Sullwalds was a small one. Gibson and Campbell, however, rescued points on the Desert Race that saw them close the gap on the Motorite crew.
“There is a bit of pressure but we are going to Sun City aiming for the win,” said Hutchison. “At the very least we need to finish ahead of the Sullwalds and Gibson/Campbell, but we will concentrate on our own race.
“This can be a tricky race and it is likely to be a dusty event, so first up we need a good prologue. After that we need to knuckle down and grind out the sort of result we need.”
The father and son team of Nick and Ryan Harper, in the Motorite BAT Venom, will also be looking for a good result after more disappointment for the team in Botswana. The Harpers now lie fifth in the championship, four points behind Quintin and Kallie Sullwald, but are only half a point clear of Philip de Vries and Johan Viljoen.
Motorite Racing is the motorsport division of Motorite Administrators, the largest independent mechanical breakdown insurance and full maintenance plan service provider and administrator in South Africa.
