The penultimate round of the 2024 South African Rally-Raid Championship (SARRC), the Phakisa 400, proved to be a high-speed, dust-filled challenge for Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Racing. The event, held in Welkom on 14 September 2024, saw Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer (#200) secure a respectable fourth-place finish in the Ultimate (T1+) class, while team-mates Lance Woolridge and Kenny Gilbert (#234) faced tough setbacks.
Fast Start, Tough Finish
Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, reigning champions, started the weekend strong by clocking the second-fastest time during the Friday qualifying sprint. However, a small navigation error just before the end of the opening race loop dropped them to fourth place, trailing the Toyota crew of Giniel de Villiers and Elvéne Vonk by a mere second. Despite this, they continued to push hard through the challenging 450km race across the dry farmlands and gold mine fields surrounding Welkom and Odendaalsrus.
“We pushed as hard as we could today, but it just wasn’t enough to make up ground on the crews ahead of us,” said Gareth Woolridge. “This was a flat-out race the whole way with very high speeds over long open sections. Our car is more suited to tighter, more technical routes, and there simply wasn’t anywhere that we could pull back time on our rivals.”
Mechanical Setback for Lance Woolridge and Kenny Gilbert
Lance Woolridge and Kenny Gilbert weren’t as fortunate. Although they placed sixth in qualifying, a heavy landing on a rock after a high-speed jump damaged their rear tyre, collapsed the hub, and shattered the brake disc, forcing them to retire from the Friday race. With their vehicle fully repaired overnight, the duo set out to make up lost time on Saturday, but thick dust from slower competitors ahead of them significantly hampered their progress, leaving them 14th overall and ninth in the Ultimate (T1+) class.
“It was a challenging and extremely dusty day for Kenny and I, as we worked hard to pass six cars over the 360km of total race distance today which was very difficult,” said Lance Woolridge. “The dust was so bad that I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times we turned a corner and simply couldn’t see where we were going.”
High-Speed Racing Pushes Limits
The pace of the Phakisa 400 was a hot topic among competitors. “This is probably the fastest race we’ve ever had,” noted NWM Ford team principal Neil Woolridge, commenting on the wide-open route and the high-speed capabilities of the Ultimate (T1+) cars. With vehicles often hitting the speed limiter at 170km/h, few opportunities arose for drivers to gain any significant time on their rivals.
“We know that our NWM Ford Ranger really works well in more technical and rough terrain,” Woolridge added. “It’s constant evolution with these Ultimate/T1+ cars with their big wheels and long-travel suspension, and they’re just going faster and faster at every race, which puts extraordinary loads on all the components.”
While Lance and Kenny’s mechanical issues set them back, Woolridge remained optimistic about the team’s performance. “Other than this, the cars were superbly reliable, and although we were confident of having at least one and possibly even two cars on the podium, it just didn’t go our way.”
Eyes on the Final Race
As the NWM Ford team looks ahead to the final race of the season, the Gauteng 400 in November, the team is focused on refining their strategy and making the necessary adjustments to compete in both fast and technical terrains. The Bronkhorstspruit/Rayton area promises a thrilling conclusion to the 2024 SARRC season, where Gareth, Lance, and their teams will aim to finish on a high note.
