Pretoria, 13 July, 2009. - Team Ford Racing is eagerly awaiting round five of the Absa Off Road Championship taking place on the weekend of 24 and 25 July. The Sun City 400 can be regarded as a home event for the Pretoria-based manufacturer, as it is close to the Ford Assembly Plant, which is situated East of Pretoria in Silverton
.
Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer have always been fond of the Sun City event.
“We have taken second place on this event for the last two years running so we are confident of a strong running. We have been working tirelessly on developing the Ford Ranger TDCi's and we hope to demonstrate their pace on this event,” says Woolridge.
Piloting the second SP Ford Ranger 3,2TDCi will be Thomas Rundle from Barden Tyre Services, and navigator Stavros Yiannakis. The young pair will be aiming for a strong points finish.
“This is an exciting event for me as it is so close to my home town of Pretoria as well as the Ford factory. We expect to have a lot of support and hopefully we’ll be able to give them something to cheer about.”
Baphumze Rubuluza and Khulile Vakalisa will represent Team Ford Racing in Class E with the 3.0 TDCi Rangers. “The last event was very difficult for the team so we are eager to put that behind us and get straight to business on the Sun City event,” says Rubuluza.
The Sun City 400 also sees the team welcoming a new sponsor on board - Innovation Group SA.
Innovation Group enables the delivery of business strategies through the provision of market leading business process solutions. The company’s core business philosophy is developed around great business partnerships and exceptional client relationships.
“We are very excited to partner with Ford in the South African Absa Off Road Championship and we wish the team the best of luck on the upcoming event,” says Warren Fryer - Manager: Corporate: Innovation Motor Sales and Services, the Innovation Group.
Team Manager Woolridge continues: “We are very excited to welcome Innovation Group to the team. They share many values with the team and we are sure they will gain valuable exposure through the association.
“The event is expected to be spectator friendly with all the spectator points located within a 50km radius of race headquarters. The viewing points are easily accessible and provide plenty of action. We expect to have a lot of support for the team and so we will be more determined than ever to have a strong finish,” Woolridge concluded.