Free Dakar Rally entry in 2016 lures Donaldson Cross Country Championship teams

A free entry to the toughest motorsport event on the planet is the pot of gold teams will be chasing in the Dakar Challenge, run in conjunction with the RFS Endurance, in Harrismith (100km from Ladysmith) on March 27 and 28.

Privateers from three continents, all looking to earn a shot at glory in South America, will enter Dakar Challenge events with seven local crews entered for the South African leg that will run alongside the opening round of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship. Five crews will be competing in the Production Vehicle category and two in the Special Vehicle category.

Two of the five Production Vehicle entries for the RFS Endurance are from the premier Class T which caters for cars over four litres with independent rear suspension. Regent Racing team principal Terence Marsh teams up with television personality Marius Roberts in a Nissan Navara, with North West youngsters Jason Venter and Vincent van Allemann out in the 4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux.

Two other Regent Racing Nissan Navara crews – Sean Reitz and Gerhard Schutte and Portuguese pair Rómulo Branco and João Serôdio – will compete in Class S for cars up to four litres with solid axle rear suspension. They will be joined by Deon Venter and Jaco van Aardt in the 4×4 Mega World Toyota Hilux.

Two Class P crews will make up the Special Vehicle contingent. Century Racing CR2 flyers Colin Matthews and Rodney Burke will be joined by Swaziland driver John Thomson and Maurice Zermatten in a Zarco Magnum. Thomson/Zermatten won the Class P championship in 2013, with Thomson again taking the driver title last year, while Zermatten was runner-up in the co-driver title race after missing the last event of the season.

Free Dakar Rally entry in 2016 lures Donaldson Cross Country Championship teams

“The Dakar Challenge strengthens the already strong ties between South African cross country racing and the Dakar Rally, and has become an important part of the Donaldson championship,” said SANORA chief executive officer Richard Schilling. “South African teams did themselves proud at this year’s Dakar Rally, and we are looking to see the trend continue next year.”

The RFS Endurance will be based at the La La Nathi resort on the outskirts of Harrismith. A 196 kilometre qualifying race to determine grid positions will start at 10:30 on March 27 and the race, run over two laps of 251 kilometres, will start at 08:30 the next day.

We will be running updates on the race throughout the week on our site and our Facebook page