T Class glory for Johan and Werner Horn at Nkomazi 450

The fifth round of the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship started with competitors’ taking a spin through Malalane on Friday morning before heading off on the route for the qualifying race to determine their grid positions.

Sixty teams participated.

The race is the brainchild of Johan Horn Sr of Malalane Toyota and has been successfully run since 2013. This year RCL Foods also stepped on board and a new route was designed to utilise terrain.

Race headquarters, as well as the start and finish were at Riverview Prep School, with the premises converted into a pit for the vehicles and a carnival of stalls for spectators.

The race is known as a tough and technical one and competitors soon felt the bite of the tyre-eating terrain.

Several competitors were delayed by punctures during the qualifying race and agreed that they had to keep their wits about them to get through the tough route in a good time.

The Horns were among the lucky ones who had a clean run, which put them in a great position for the main race.

For champions Anthony Taylor and Denis Murphy of Toyota Gazee Racing SA, the event came to an abrupt end when they ran into power-steering problems and had to retire halfway through the main race.

The race consisted of two 156-kilometre loops, with a compulsory 20-minute service halt at the end of the first lap.

Hundreds of local spectators supported their favourites along the route, snaking through bush and sugar-cane fields between Malalane and Kaapmuiden on Saturday.

In their best performance this season, the Horn brothers crossed the finish line in overall second place, following Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Leeroy Poulter and Rob Howie. This gave them a first place in the Class T. In third were Johan van Staden and Mike Lawrenson in a Red-Lined Nissan Navara.

Werner stated that it was a very difficult, technical race and that both driver and navigator needed to keep their focus throughout. The pair had two punctured tyres during the second round but recovered quickly.

Johan says the mountainous areas gave him the most trouble and the heat had him dehydrating quicker than expected. Both brothers agreed that it was great to win on home ground and were very happy with their performance.

Another local win was that of reigning champions Evan Hutchison and Mbombela-resident Danie Stassen. They had their second successive win in Class A.

Johan Sr thanked the community for its support. “We are doing it for the community, so they can come and enjoy it. It was great seeing everyone at the event and wonderful that, after a year’s struggles, Johan and Werner could win in Malalane.”

View more photos here.

Check out some photos of last year’s event here.