With the 2018 South African Cross-Country Series (SACCS) at the
mid-point of the season, Toyota Gazoo Racing SA will be aiming for a solid
performance at Round 4 of the six-round championship, the Atlas Copco 400. The
race is set to take place on 3 and 4 August 2018, with the action centering
around the Gauteng town of Bronkhorstspruit, to the east of Pretoria.
"Both our Class FIA Toyota Hilux race cars now feature the latest
cooling systems, and we've also tweaked the performance in preparation for this
weekend's race," says Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Team Principal, Glyn Hall.
"Our aim will be to record strong finishes with both cars."
Giniel de Villiers and navigator Dennis Murphy currently lead the SACCS
standings, and after winning the Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race,
Round 3 of the championship, De Villiers has opened up a substantial gap at the
top of the leaderboard. Despite Murphy joining De Villiers as navigator from
Round 2 of this year's championship, the former champion navigator currently
leads the standings for the navigator championship, with three rounds to go.
Henk Lategan and navigator Barry White had a great opening race day in
the Desert, winning the day and bagging 30 points as a result. But a DNF on Day
2 saw the Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Hilux crew lose out on even more points, and
Lategan currently finds himself in fourth place in the standings.
"Henk and Barry did an excellent job in Botswana, and we really
need them to carry on from there," says Hall. "Winning a day of the
Desert Race is no mean feat, and it shows the kind of pace that we've come to
expect from this crew."
Behind the two factory Toyota Hilux race cars come a fleet of privateer
entries, including the Class FIA Toyota Hilux of Chris Visser and Philip
Herselman (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux); the recently victorious Class T Toyota
Hilux of Johan and Werner Horn (Malalane Toyota Hilux); and the Class S car of
Heinie Strumpher and Henri Hugo (4x4 Mega World Toyota Hilux). Each of these
crews is in the mix for their respective championships, and the Atlas Copco 400
is certain to be exciting from that point of view.
The race starts at 14:00 on Friday, 3 August, with a Qualifying Race of
40 km. This race will be used to determine the starting positions for
Saturday's main event, which starts at 08:00. The race HQ, Designated Service
Park (DSP) and start/finish will be located at the Soetdoring Function Venue,
and as always entry for spectators is free of charge.
Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Acknowledges Its Sponsors and
Specialist Official Suppliers and Technical Partners
Toyota enjoys a mutually beneficial
relationship with Total, Toyota Financial Services and the Innovation Group.
Also Hallspeed, Imperial Toyota, SKF, Spanjaard, OMP, NGK, Donaldson,
Mastercraft, Edgecam, 3M, Bandit Signs, Shatterprufe, Supreme Springs, Smith’s
Manufacturing, TRD, Peritus Forex, 4x4 Mega World, First National Battery,
Duxbury Netgear and Plan-C Productions.
