2017 SUN CITY 250 – ROUND 6 – RACE REPORT

Written by Ferdie Pieterse & Pics courtesy of Nadia@PixelArt

un City made it

back onto the

regional calendar

for the 2017 season as a

combined event with the

National Championship

series. This meant that

there would be no time

trial for the regional

competitors and starting

positions were

determined by the

seeding system, with

competitors setting off in

2 minute intervals

following on after the last

National competitor

started.

Ahead of the crews lay

200 kms of extremely dry

and dusty terrain, with

high

temperatures

thrown into the

mix. Whilst the

DSP (Designated

Service Point)

was at Sun City,

the actual start

took the

competitors

some 27 km away from

the main race hub.

And with the area

experiencing late rains,

the grass was tall and

hiding many dangers,

should the crews stray

from the tracks. Sun City

has always provided the

racers with a unique

variation of terrain and

this year it was no

different.

SPECIAL VEHICLES

OVERALL

Whilst the final results

showed another stunning

victory for the Beers,

Andrew and Zelma in

S

their Class P (BAT Sec 0),

the fight up front was as

fast and furious as we’ve

become accustomed to.

Tales of woe abounded

though and most

competitors faced

problems along the way.

This was Andrew and

Zelma’s third win in a

row, a stunning

achievement in this very

competitive class. The

win was also enough to

place them in an

unassailable position at

the top of the

championship standings

on 168 points, clinching

their first ever

championship title with

one race to go. Coming

home in second was

another husband-and-

wife team, Kobus and

Marinda Fourie, also in a

Class P – BAT Spec 0. It’s

a pity they haven’t

competed the whole

season though because

they would surely have

been championship

contenders based on

current from.

Tony

and

Michael

Gouveia

clinched

the final

podium

position

(3rd)

putting in

a steady

drive.

Whilst the

father-

and-son

combo’s

CRT is

showing

reliability, the win has

eluded them the whole

season. Their efforts are

paying off though as they

find themselves in second

place on the overall log

with 116 points.

Another family combo,

the father-and-son team

of Marthinus and Tiaan le

Roux, produced a

stunning performance in

their Class B, taking

fourth place overall.

Rounding out the top 5

was the Class P entry of

Rikus Prinsloo/Lela Lerm,

dropping one place in the

Championship standings

to third on 112 points,

only 4 points behind

second place.

Francois Smit/Craig

Galvin, last year’s Overall

Special Vehicle

Champions, suffered a

DNF putting an end to

their championship

aspirations as they now

dropped to 4th on the log

with 99 points.

CLASS P

Andrew & Zelma Beer

cinched their 3rd victory

in a row and in doing so;

they also clinched the

Class P Championship,

racking up 203 points in

the process. They found

the route to be technical

and challenging

encountering not only

hard and slippery terrain,

but also had to dodge

some livestock and

spectators along the way.

Their clutch gave up the

ghost with 30 km to go

but in the end, it all

ended well for them.

Kobus and Marinda

Fourie put in a stunning

performance to come

home in second place,

less than three minutes

adrift after more than

two-and-a-half hours’

worth of racing. The hot

conditions plagued a few

teams, one of them being

the Gouveia’s, but after

suffering overheating

throughout the race, they

completed

the class

podium in

third

place,

putting

them in

second place on the Class

P Championship log with

169 points to their credit.

Rikus and Leila took

fourth place in Class P,

but not without hassles.

They took over the lead

from the Beers after an

overshoot in the twisties.

But somewhere along the

line a piece of tree got

lodged into their radiator

fan and caused it to burn

out. With subsequent

overheating problems,

they had no option but to

back off the pace and

make it to the finish.

They dropped one place

in the class championship

standings as well, down

to third on 153 points.

Derick and Pieter de Wit

took fifth place after their

fuel surge tank broke off

and they had to affect

some emergency

roadside repairs. When

they got going again, they

had a clean run but the

time lost proved their

undoing. It’s only a

matter of time before

they should be at the

sharp end of the field,

surely a team to watch in

the future.

Last year’s champions,

Francois Smit and Craig

Galvin suffered their

second DNF in a row with

a broken frame putting

paid to their hopes of a

good finish. As is the

case in the overall

standings, they are also

sitting in 4th place in the

class championship on

135 points.

CLASS B

It was a case of the lone

twin seater versus the

single seater triplets.

Marthinus le Roux & son

Tiaan, versus Peter

Pfumfei, Nishal

Bhana and

Brendan Martin.

In the end, when

the

prover-

bial

dust settled,

father-and-son

triumphed as

problems befell

the lone

rangers.

Peter Pfumfei went into

the race with an 18 point

lead over Marthinus but

that was all

wiped out when

he suffered a

broken steering

and was

stranded out on

the route. With

Marthinus

winning and

Peter recording

a DNF, the two of them

are now tied on points,

each with 142 to their

credit

. This

is not

the

first

time

that

the two of them will

arrive at the last race of

the year, Glenharvie, with

the championship still up

for grabs.

Last season, the pair of

them arrived at

Glenharvie with Peter

having a slender one-

point lead over

Marthinus. Marthinus

took the class victory

there ahead of Peter

to win the class

championship by a mere

two points. Who will

triumph this year? Will

Peter get his revenge?

We’ll have to wait and

see……..

Nishal Bhana was

plagued by electrical

problems after he started

well. It proved his

undoing eventually and

he fell by the wayside.

He’s occupying third spot

on the class

championship ladder, 20

points ahead of Brendan

Martin who’s on 45

points.

Brendan had his fair

share of hassles, battling

with steering rack

problems until it proved

his undoing and he had

no choice but to

withdraw from the race.

He eventually made it

back to the DSP and then

proceeded to turn his

Audi Q7 into an off-road

vehicle to go and recover

his stranded friend, Peter

Pfumfei. The ensuing

rescue proved very

challenging and they

eventually made it back

to Sun City sometime

after 7pm. True

friendship

indeed……

PRODUCTION

VEHICLES

OVERALL

Whilst they found the

going rough and

tough, with no major

problems to speak of,

Hein Kruger/Leonard

Reinecke was victorious

in their Class D Hilux.

Behind them there was a

battle supreme with a

mere 9

minutes and 6

seconds

covering 2nd to

7th places after

more than 3

hours of racing.

Lourens van Wyk/Cois

Mare took second place

in another Class D and

have done enough to

claim the Overall

Production Vehicle

Championship on 153

points. Sun City provided

them with many

challenges such as

a flat wheel,

electronic

problems and with

100kms to go, a

broken rear drive

shaft.

In his first MSA

Northern Regions

race as driver, Sean van

Staden (son of seasoned

racer Johan van Staden)

with co-driver Shane

Davel in their Class D

Isuzu took the final

podium position. A great

performance, finishing

only 32 seconds behind

second place. Their list of

problems included a

collision with a tree, loss

of 4 wheel drive after

100kms, a slipping clutch

and running out of fuel.

He has some big shoes to

fill but it seems that he’s

started off well.

Fourth overall, also the

lone Class E survivors,

was the Theuns du

Toit/Arnold Nortje

pairing. They reported a

clean run with no major

issues and moved up into

third place in the

championship.

Alex and Alan van Rooyen

(Class D) claimed fifth

overall after a flat wheel

and problems with their

jack lost them too much

time to catch up. Jurie

and Pieter du Plessis

(Class D) took sixth,

ahead of Reagan

Austen/Warren Vos

(Class D). After losing

rear wheel drive due to

broken driveshafts,

Austen/Vos continued for

nearly half race distance

with only front wheel

drive to claim valuable

championship points.

They are

in fourth

place

with 92

points

and still

have a scant

chance of

finishing as

high as second. Rodney

Cook/Rikus Hatting (Class

E) suffered their second

DNF for the season after

starting off well. Trouble

hit at the 140km mark

with a broken upper

wishbone putting an end

to their race. They are

sitting in fifth place on

the log

with 86

points.

Okkie &

Juandre

Kruger

(Class E)

set off at

a great

pace and

was set

for a possible podium

placing when the engine

picked up a misfire due to

overheating issues. This

problem finally put an

end to their race and they

had to withdraw.

CLASS D

With Hein Kruger &

Leonard Reynecke taking

the class win ahead of

Lourens van

Wyk & Cois

Mare, the

class

championship

is still up for

grabs. Van

Wyk/Mare is

leading the

charge on

174 points versus Kruger

& Reynecke on 159

points.

Sean van Staden/Shane

Davel completed the

class podium in third.

Fourth was Alex & Alan

van Rooyen and they are

also in fourth place in the

class championship on

125 points. Jurie & Pieter

du Plessis came home

fifth in class and Reagan

Austen/Warren Vos took

sixth, dropping one place

in the class championship

to third on 143 points.

CLASS E

Theuns du Toit/Arnold

Nortje won the class and

with their rivals not

finishing to score any

points, they are topping

the class log at 170 points

and basically just need to

start the last race to

claim the class

championship.

The fight for second place

in the class championship

is still alive through.

Cook/Hatting is second

on 137 points, Frikkie &

Tjaart Steyn third on 127

points and Okkie &

Juandre Kruger fourth on

119 points. Any of these

three crews can still claim

second spot at

Glenharvie.

CONCLUSION

The Sun City 250

certainly lived up

to expectations

providing

competitors

with a great

route with many

challenges. The hot

weather and dry & dusty

conditions put the

competitors and their

vehicles to the test,

but in the end, it was

enjoyed by all.

Whilst some of the

championships have

now been decided,

and congratulations

go out to all those

competitors, there

are still a few titles to be

decided at the season’s

last race, the Glenharvie

250.

Again, we must extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in putting up a race like the

Sun City 250, without these efforts we would not be able to race.

Next event: Glenharvie 250 – 28 October 2017 – see you there!