PIETERMARTIZBURG will have two Ford Rangers, each selling for more
than R4,9 million, in next year’s 35th Dakar cross-country race in South
America.
South African Chris Visser and South America’s Lucio Alvarez will
be driving the five-litre, V8 Rangers over the 2014 route between Rosario in
Argentina and Valparaiso in Chile via Bolivia.
Team manager Neil Woolridge told Witness Wheels that
18 permanent staff members had for two years been working on designing and
building the Ford Rangers from a blank piece of paper. The full Dakar team will
have 28 personnel.
“Ford Global Product Development (Detroit) and ourselves have been
working on the project for two years. The whole car is built in
Pietermaritzburg,” he said.
The Rangers will fly to Argentina in mid-December, with the team
leaving on December 29.
Asked to describe in one word the logistics of exporting the racing
equipment from the Midlands across the Atlantic, Woolrdige said: “It’s not easy
transporting two race cars, 160 tyres and three tons of spares from PMB to
Argentina.”
Dakar’s organisers state on their website that the 2014 Dakar will
highlight the physical and strategic aspects comprising the essence of off-road
races.
“The distinctive features of north-west Argentina’s tracks and the
dunes will require the drivers to be attentive at all times and the Atacama
Desert will [provide new challenges]. With several marathon stages on the
agenda, managing mechanics will be vital to ensure the vehicles’ performance,”
states the site.
Visser and navigator Badenhorst are the local off-road champions
and lead the current Cross Country Championship in South Africa (formerly known
as off-road), but it will be the pair’s first Dakar. Alvarez and navigator
Ronnie Graue ended fifth in this year’s Dakar, and next year will be their
fourth foray into the 8 500 km cross-country race.
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| Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst at the Sun City 400 |
Rehearsing for the international race, Visser and Badenhorst had a
near trouble-free run to end third in the Sun City 400. They were headed briefly
by Woolridge and Huxtable in the other Ford Ranger, but were able to recover to
claim the final podium slot.
Just three rounds remain in the championship, with the next event
in Vryburg on September 6 and September 7.
Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst (inset) won third place in their
made-in-PMB Rangers (above) and were on pace at the Sun City leg of the national
off-road championships last weekend.
