On the brink of success
KYALAMI ESTATES - The Atlas Copco Gold 400 in Westonaria on 22 and 23 November is the final battleground on which Kyalami Estate's resident Evan Hutchison and his co-driver, Danie Stassen, will attempt to win the special vehicle category of the Donaldson South African Cross Country Car Racing Championship for the second year in a row.
Driving a Motorite Racing BAT Viper, they will find themselves in pole position, with a 12.5-point lead over their nearest challengers, following their domination in the recent Ford Dealer 400 in the Free State. It was their second win of the season and it moved them into the lead in the championship.
However, the Motorite Racing pair knew they had to pull off something special to keep their hopes alive for a repeat title, as they were trailing the championship leaders by 12.5 points going into race. They got their weekend off to the best possible start by comfortably winning the qualifying race and followed this up with a faultless performance by winning both the 170km loops and finishing a clear eight minutes and 23 seconds ahead of the next competitor.
With just the Atlas Copco 400 remaining, the top four in the championship are covered by just 22 points with a maximum of 25 on offer. Hutchison and Stassen lead Clint Gibson and Gary Campbell by 12.5 points and Hermann and son Wichard Sullwald by 15.5 points. Fourth-placed Colin Matthews is 22 points in arrears.
“It’s been an extraordinary championship so far,” said Hutchison, who already has three national championships to his credit as well as a class title dating back to 2005.
“We’ve had five different winners in seven races – only Danie and I and Colin have won twice – and almost all of the front runners have had one or two non-finishes. This title chase is going down to the wire, just as it did last year when we led by 14 points going into the final round. We pulled it off then and we’ll be aiming to do the same again, but it’s going to be a nervy finish to the season.”
