When the dust had settled after completing the recent GR Stella 1000 Marathon, the second round of the SA Rally-Raid Championship where competitors had to complete almost a thousand kilometres in the desert-like area in the North-West Province, the points were calculated and the outcome shuffled the standings in a way that predicts even more extremely tight racing.
Image : Dave Ledbitter
With the GR Stella 1000 taking place over three days and almost a thousand kilometres, competitors had the opportunity to add more than the usual set of points to their tally. Teams who made it to the end through hardship and determination, were rewarded with the maximum amount of points towards the overall as well as the various class championship titles. Not much now separates the competitors and with only three rounds of the national series still to go, red-hot action can be expected at each of the remaining races.
At the top of the overall standings, things changed somewhat although it is still Toyota Gazoo Racing that lead. The defending champion, Saood Variawa, now with navigator Charan Moore reading him the notes, led the points’ standings after the opening round, but had to settle for fifth place after an unfortunate incident with a spectator vehicle at the GR Stella 1000 Marathon. Their team-mates, Guy Botterill and his new navigator, Henry Köhne won the race after leading from start to finish and scooped up a healthy helping of points.
Variawa, now with a total of 54 points, dropped to second place in the Overall Drivers’ Championship behind the new leader, Botterill (60 points) while Gareth Woolridge, who finished third at Stella together with navigator Boyd Dreyer (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Team), has also accumulated 54 points after the first two races.
In the Overall Navigators’ Championship, Moore and Dreyer are, however, at the front having both scored 54 points in total due to Botterill starting the season with Spanish navigator, Oriol Valdearcos who scored 15 points at the first race that places him 10th in the current overall standings. Köhne is fourth with 45 points.
A runner-up result for Jayden Els/Johann Swemmer (Century Racing Factory CR7) pushed Els to fourth place (47 points) while Swemmer moved onto the navigator’s podium (47 points), two points ahead of Köhne. Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid DKR Hilux T1+ EVO ) dropped to fifth place in the standings (34 points), two points ahead of the third TGR team, Sa’aad Variawa/Wade Harris (32 points) who also scored well.
With teams in the Ultimate FIA T1+ filling the first six positions on the overall standings, the ever consistent Philip Botha/Andries Mynhardt (Red-Lined Revo T1+), moved from ninth overall to seventh place (24 points) followed by the winners of this class at Stella, Johan and Sean van Staden (Red-Lined Revo T1+) in eighth place (20 points). The Blignaut brothers, Fouché and Bertus (#TeamHilux Rally-Raid) scored their first points of the season (18) and are ninth overall while the leader of the Challenger Class, Geoff Minnitt (Hydro Power Equipment Maverick) rounds off the overall drivers’ standings (17 points).
Points scored towards the various class championships have changed and competitors now score additional points for the number of stages completed during a race meaning that not all is lost when teams cannot complete the full race distance.
In the Ultimate FIA T1+ Drivers’ Championship, Botterill took the lead (90 points) followed by Saood Variawa and Woolridge, both having earned 84 points. Els jumped to fourth place (77 points) while De Villiers (66 points) dropped to fifth. Young Sa’aad Variawa moved up (65 points) followed by Fouché (47 points) who jumped from 11th to seventh in the standings.
Like Fouché, Danie Ludick (Castrol NWM Ford Rally-Raid Team) could also not complete the full race distance of the season opener, but a 10th place at Stella combined with points scored at the first event, now places him in eighth place (41 points). His team-mates, Wors Prinsloo, completed the first event with navigator, André Vermeulen, but had to call it a day close to the finish on the GR Stella 1000 Marathon, and a total of 36 points now puts him in ninth place. The same fate befell their newcomer team-mates, the father and son duo of Michael and Luke Lawlor, who are 10th in the class with a total of 34 points.
The standings between the navigators in Ultimate FIA T1+, look scrambled due to the musical chairs scenario. At the front, Moore and Dryer have both earned 84 points with Swemmer third (77 points). Murphy (66 points) is fourth, one point ahead of Harris who is again only two points ahead of Köhne (63 points). Fouché’s brother and navigator, Bertus is seventh (47 points) followed by Ludick’s navigator, Denzil Williamson (41 points). Vermeulen bagged 36 points next to Prinsloo and is ninth while Lawlor Junior rounds off the top 10 with 34 points.
Looking at the top five in Ultimate SA T1+, Botha/Mynhardt now lead (90 points) although only three points separate them from the Van Staden father and son combination, Johan and Sean, in second place. The class achievers at Stella, Abrie and Iaan Olivier (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined Revo T1+) moved up and are now on the podium (58 points) while the leaders after the first round, Lood du Preez/Adriaan Roets (Farmers Meat Century Racing CR6), could not complete the GR 1000 Marathon, but finished various stages, dropped to fourth place with 48 points each.
The German driver, Jurgen Schröder and Rikus Fourie (PS Laser WCT VW Amarok) found themselves in the same boat as Du Preez/Roets, but only dropped one position and are now fifth (42 points).
A second consecutive victory in the Adventurer Class and a total of 90 points for Peet Victor/VanZyl Jonck (VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined VK50) resulted in the team opening a gap to Nielen Marx/Rikus Hattingh (Red-Lined VK50) who moved from fourth to second place. They have 55 points and are 13 points ahead of yet another VAPS HCV Rally-Raid Red-Lined VK50 team, Tyler Botha and Kyle Lotter (42 points) who remained in third. Tokkie Ferreira/Nardus Janse van Rensburg (Ford) dropped from second to fourth place (36 points) after not being able to complete the marathon event, like Botha/Lotter, Jan Rose/Arno Olivier (Ford) are fifth (15 points).
Minnitt (66 points) and Leander Pienaar (42 points) who sat next to him during the marathon event, lead the Challenger Class. And after competing for the first time this season and scoring points, Schalk Burger/Armand du Toit (King Price Xtreme Ford) are second in the class (38 points). The Dutch driver, Henk Klaasen (DaklaPack RallySport) fills the third place (22 points) while his brother and navigator, Pim, is fourth (22 points), two points behind navigator Rodney Burke (24 points) who sat next to Minnitt at the season opener.
Teams are now preparing for the Century Property Developments – Century Racing Outeniqua 400 that takes place on 28 and 29 August after being postponed due to flooding earlier this year.
