NISSAN SAYS: Nissan Motorsport continued its domination of the Absa Off Road Championship for production vehicles with a seventh successive win in the Toyota Dealer 400 in Lydenburg on Saturday. Newly crowned champions Duncan Vos and Ralph Pitchford claimed their fifth win in seven races in the class SP Donaldson Nissan Navara when they completed the penultimate round of the championship in a time of 7 hr 52min 29 sec.
The Nissan pair finished 24 seconds ahead of the Toyota Hilux of Hein Lategan and Chris Birkin. Nissan team-mates Ivar Tollefsen and Quin Evans were third, 2 min 32 sec further back and 22 seconds ahead of Anthony Taylor and Robin Houghton (Toyota Hilux). Hannes Grobler and Juan Mohr, winners of last year’s event in Mpumalanga, were fifth, 27 seconds behind Taylor and Houghton. They led the race in the early stages from team-mates Vos/Pitchford and Tollefsen/Evans but dropped back to 11th after a puncture and problems with the jack lost them 3½ minutes.
“It was a really tough race and Ralph and I were under a lot of pressure,” said Vos. “We couldn’t relax for an instant.”
Nissan also won class A (Vos and Pitchford) and class E, with Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie bringing their Nissan Motorsport-prepared Ferodo Nissan Hardbody home 16th overall out of 21 finishers and 1,01 sec ahead of the Toyota Hilux of Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux. For Poulter, a former circuit racing champion, and Howie it was their second class win in their first season of off road racing together and it came despite problems with a broken shock absorber in each of the first two loops of the race.
Vos/Pitchford, Tollefsen/Evans and Grobler/Mohr combined to give Nissan the manufacturers’ challenge award for the event.
Nissan privateers Alfie Cox and Jurgen Schroder (PS Laser Navara) were seventh overall and seventh in class SP, while Coetzee Labuscagne and Johan Gerber (Raysonics Nissan Hardbody), who battled with overheating problems, were 18th overall and third in class D behind winners Dewald van Breda and Johann du Toit (Toyota Hilux).
Terence Marsh and Pieter Groenewald were forced to abandon the event in the Regent Racing Nissan Navara after breaking a ball joint 85 km into the third and final loop of Saturday’s race.
With just the RFS Magalies 400 remaining on November 6 and 7, Vos and Pitchford lead the championship with 148 points. Tollefsen and Evans are second with 82 points and Gary Bertholdt and Andre Vermeulen (Toyota Hilux), who were 10th on Saturday, are third with 74 points. Grobler and Mohr are fourth with 62 points.
“This was one of the closest races we’ve had all season, but Duncan and Ralph withstood the pressure and turned in a faultless performance,” commented Glyn Hall, general manager of Nissan Motorsport. “Conditions were tough, with dust and rocks making overtaking difficult and the threat of punctures always a factor. It was a good result for us and we’re thrilled to have won the manufacturers’ challenge for the fifth time in seven races.”
The Nissan pair finished 24 seconds ahead of the Toyota Hilux of Hein Lategan and Chris Birkin. Nissan team-mates Ivar Tollefsen and Quin Evans were third, 2 min 32 sec further back and 22 seconds ahead of Anthony Taylor and Robin Houghton (Toyota Hilux). Hannes Grobler and Juan Mohr, winners of last year’s event in Mpumalanga, were fifth, 27 seconds behind Taylor and Houghton. They led the race in the early stages from team-mates Vos/Pitchford and Tollefsen/Evans but dropped back to 11th after a puncture and problems with the jack lost them 3½ minutes.
“It was a really tough race and Ralph and I were under a lot of pressure,” said Vos. “We couldn’t relax for an instant.”
Nissan also won class A (Vos and Pitchford) and class E, with Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie bringing their Nissan Motorsport-prepared Ferodo Nissan Hardbody home 16th overall out of 21 finishers and 1,01 sec ahead of the Toyota Hilux of Jannie Visser and Joks le Roux. For Poulter, a former circuit racing champion, and Howie it was their second class win in their first season of off road racing together and it came despite problems with a broken shock absorber in each of the first two loops of the race.
Vos/Pitchford, Tollefsen/Evans and Grobler/Mohr combined to give Nissan the manufacturers’ challenge award for the event.
Nissan privateers Alfie Cox and Jurgen Schroder (PS Laser Navara) were seventh overall and seventh in class SP, while Coetzee Labuscagne and Johan Gerber (Raysonics Nissan Hardbody), who battled with overheating problems, were 18th overall and third in class D behind winners Dewald van Breda and Johann du Toit (Toyota Hilux).
Terence Marsh and Pieter Groenewald were forced to abandon the event in the Regent Racing Nissan Navara after breaking a ball joint 85 km into the third and final loop of Saturday’s race.
With just the RFS Magalies 400 remaining on November 6 and 7, Vos and Pitchford lead the championship with 148 points. Tollefsen and Evans are second with 82 points and Gary Bertholdt and Andre Vermeulen (Toyota Hilux), who were 10th on Saturday, are third with 74 points. Grobler and Mohr are fourth with 62 points.
“This was one of the closest races we’ve had all season, but Duncan and Ralph withstood the pressure and turned in a faultless performance,” commented Glyn Hall, general manager of Nissan Motorsport. “Conditions were tough, with dust and rocks making overtaking difficult and the threat of punctures always a factor. It was a good result for us and we’re thrilled to have won the manufacturers’ challenge for the fifth time in seven races.”
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