ABSA National Off Road Championship
Pretoria, September 20th 2010. – Round six of the Absa Off Road Championship sees crews heading across the border for the Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race. The action gets underway on Friday 24 September with the proceeding 1000kms considered to be the most grueling on the ABSA National Off Road Championship calendar.
Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer are enjoying a strong season in their SP Class Ford Ranger TDCi. With three rounds remaining in the championship there is still everything to play for.
“The Desert Race is always a favourite,” comments Neil. “It’s an extremely long and demanding race on crew and trucks, so it’s important not to push or make unnecessary mistakes. This year we’ll be looking to challenge at the front of the field and further strengthen our position in the championship. ”
Piloting the second Ford Ranger TDCi will be Neil’s son Lance. Lance will once again have navigator Ward Huxtable at his side. Huxtable’s expertise will be extremely valuable as Lance makes his debut appearance on the challenging event.
“This year’s route will incorporate a number of new sections. This will hopefully allow us to claw back some of the advantage those who competed on the event previously enjoy over us,” explains Lance. “It will be a steep learning curve for me but we are ready for the challenge and Ward will be a much needed voice of experience.”
The Desert Race is one of Botswana’s biggest sporting events of the year, attracting as many as 120 000 spectators over the three day period. The incredible popularity of the event coupled with the demanding nature of the route makes it the event of the season.
”The Ford Ranger TDCi’s have proved to be very tough and reliable, and those attributes will be tested on the Desert Race. You never can be sure what to expect but we are confident in the package we have and are eager for the race to get underway,” says Woolridge.
Team Ford Racing would like to thank Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, Motorvia, Innovation Group, Liqui Moly, Signsolutions, Garmin and spectators for their continued support.
